The Shredder Supermarket
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The Shredder Supermarket is dedicated to the fight against Identity theft and helping you protect yourself and your business.
Identity Fraud is the UK's quickest growing crime, costing the country over £1 billion a year, and growing.
CIFAS figures showed a 40% increase in the number of identity fraud victims in the first quarter of 2009
Your personal information and identity can be extremely valuable. Criminals can use your details to open bank accounts, get credit cards, loans, state benefits and even documents such as passports and driving licenses in your name. The first you may know about this crime is when bailiffs knock on your door demanding payment for overdue loans you know nothing about.
Fraudsters perpetrate identity theft by stealing your personal details. This is usually done by stealing documents from your rubbish or contacting you pretending to be a legitimate organision such as a bank.
“Don't throw away entire bills, receipts, credit-or debit-card slips, bank statements or even unwanted post in your name. Destroy unwanted documents, preferably by using a shredder.” - Official Home Office Guidelines.
Choosing the right shredder will be based on the amount of security you are looking for. Shredders offer different levels of protection based on the type of waste paper produced, such as strips, cross cut or confetti. The smaller the pieces of paper that are produced at the end the harder it is for criminals to piece together documents again.
Strip cut shredders
As the name suggests strip cut shredders create long strips of paper with various width of shredding produced depending on the machine. Strip cut shredders are the cheapest type of machine as they are also the least complicated and easiest to manufacture. Strip cut shredders are ideal for home use though you should still try to separate the waste as much as possible to prevent reassembly. If you suspect that you are a high risk for identity theft it may be worth investing in a cross cut shredder.
Cross cut shredders
Cross cut shredders are able to cut in two directions to produce particles of paper. This offers much higher data protection. The size of the cut dictates the level of security with the very smallest confetti pieces being suitable for government or military use. Level 6 shredders produce particles so small that they meet Ministry of Defense (MOD) requirements for the destruction of top secret documents.
Standard cross cut shredders are used by businesses that need to protect their information. The cross cut shredder as well as offering higher security protection produces a lower volume of waste and so waste paper can be stored and moved much more easily than normal strip cut shredder waste. The cross cut shredder is now the standard office shredder, though the security level required will still allow for a great variety of choices and budgets.
When choosing your shredders you should take into account your current needs but also your future requirements. If you anticipate company growth or just having more documents to shred for whatever reason remember that your shredder needs to be able to cope with your demands. Try to work out what level of security you require and the volumes you are going to be shredding.
Once you know how often you will be shredding and the amounts of material, its nature and your security requirements you will be able to choose which shredder is right for you.
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