Useful Tips from Your Professional Paper Shredding Company
As we step into the New Year, most of us like to refresh and re-align our goals. We make plans and resolutions to positively impact our personal and professional lives. One aspect for which no amount of planning is ever too much is that of protecting our personal information.
While every passing year promises greater technological advances and modern conveniences, it also increases the potential threats to your privacy and security, both offline and online. In fact, you may find it surprising that a lot of your personal information is already easily accessible to anyone who is seeking to make unlawful gains by using these details. Whether you are an individual or a business, if you wish to remain private, or minimize the exposure of your personal information, here are some steps to consider.
Top Five Tips Protect Your Personal Information
Be Cautious of What You Share, and Where: Whether you are accessing a website, completing an email-based feedback survey, or enjoying a freebie at the mall, you are required to provide your personal information before completing such transactions. Think twice before you share your name, email address, contact number or other sensitive information:
- Wherever possible, ask questions about why and how your information will be used. Also ask how the recipient will protect it. Resist the temptation and refuse to give in if you think the details they are asking for are unnecessary.
- Click or check off the ‘no thanks’ box on the forms that ask you to share personal details.
- If the way in which a certain service provider uses your information concerns you, speak up and reach out to the relevant authorities within the organization. Most companies are prompt and particular about addressing their customers’ privacy concerns.
Don’t Fall for Scams: Be wary of phone calls or emails that pressurize you to part with personal information on the pretext of legitimate business. Scammers often take on false identities and mimic tax, immigration, police or other government authorities, to create pressure tactics, or spook you into giving up your confidential details. This information is subsequently used for identity theft, credit card fraud, and numerous other scams.
Adopt Comprehensive Online Security Measures: As long as your phone, laptop, computer or any other smart device is connected to the internet, you are always at the risk of exposing your personal and sensitive information. This may include your texts, photographs, business documents, or other proprietary material that sits on your devices. Try to follow these best practices for any online activity:
- Password protect all your files and folders and use unique passwords for various email accounts that you use.
- Use anti-virus software and other security features, products or services that protect your devices against information-stealing malware and bugs.
- Secure your Wi-Fi connections and browsers, block cookies and switch between search engines at regular intervals.
- Use private browsing options, especially when you are about to share personal information on any online site, or while using a public Wi-Fi network.
Handle Your Social Media Presence Responsibly: Your social media activities can be a free source of information about your personality, preferences, real-time whereabouts, political and social opinions and several other aspects.
- Be careful of the comments, information or real-time updates you share online.
- Monitor and regulate your privacy settings for each platform periodically.
- Watch out for URLs that block your access until you use one of your social media profiles to login. Most often, this enables the host site to comment or post directly on your online profile, without your permission.
Don’t Forget to Shred: While you may adopt the most advanced online security measures, don’t forget to shred any unwanted physical documents, before they land in a garbage dump. This includes receipts, bills, discarded mail, or any other records that contain sensitive information about you, your customers or your employees. To ensure that miscreants do not piece together the destroyed material, follow a safe and secure destruction process by using high-quality shredders, or hiring professional shredding services.
For all your paper and digital media shredding needs, choose the trusted NAID AAA Certified company, TITAN Mobile Shredding. Call us at (866) 848-2699 and speak to our data destruction professionals. You can also contact us online to request your free quote.
