After bundling up my third more-than-annual wad of credit card receipts, I wondered, "Why the heck AM I saving these ANYWAY?" The best answer I could come up with was, years of conditioning have taught me to save all paperwork I ever have (then destroy it mercilessly after 7 years).

But is there any real reason to save credit card receipts anymore? Sure, I should save receipts for home improvements, contributions, and medical expenses; all for tax reasons. Maybe gas receipts if I was self employed and wanted to write off $0.32/mile.

But the rest of 'em? Any reason to keep them? Thanks for your input.

I don't know a reason other than tax deductions.

Many CC receipts fade within a year anyway. If you were looking to claim business mileage on your taxes then an accurate mileage log is all you need. IRS don't care whether your car gets 25 or 35 miles to the gallon, or how much you pay for your gas.

But when you ditch them, shred them or burn them. I don't know about the US, but going thtough house waste to get personal details is big business here.

Almost all the credit card recipts I get don't have the entire credit card number on them just the last four digits.

Shred them anyway! Better to be a little paranoid than to get burned in this way. I have seen it happen to people, and it gets very ugly.

That reminds me, I need to order a better shredder... <click>

I want to get one too because I am more paranoid about all those pre-approved apps in the mail so I would like to shred those. I want the one that does cds too I can't remember what brand it is but it's pretty expensive for a home shredder.

As for credit card pre-approvals, call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT. That is a central number that will block most (but not all) credit card offers.

Heh... A news article just the other week on CNN...

Oh, I have one. I just want one that can handle a heavier load and do cross-cutting...

Wow, so dumpster diving really does happen?? Sure in the UK, but coming from Paul who lives near me, that hits kind of close to home.

I recently saw a privacy survey which listed many best-practices for dealing with junk mail and other disposables. (sorry I just can't find the link). I'm on the fence about just how paranoid I should be. Shread everything with my real credit card # on it? Shread unused checks from closed accounts? Shread ALL credit card offers? Tear my address off stuff and shread that?

Currently, I put all junk mail in recycling (which, for the past year, has been building up in my garage since nobody takes junk mail in my county any more). That seems to make dumpster diving even easier. Makes me wonder if I should just burn down my garage with all the junk mail in it instead of finding a place which will take it.

And what is "cross cutting" anyway? I have a simple Aurora 10sheet shreader (with credit card slot). Will that do a good enough job?

Thoughts? Best-practices? Threat vectors? Horror stories?

Oh yeah, and in my quest to obliterate my junk mail by calling catalog companies and removing from their lists, I've actually called credit card companies and told them to stop sending me offers. It actually worked (for American Express and their stupid "Blue" card).

Now if I can just call MY credit card company and demand that they stop sending me those "quick cash" checks. THOSE, I shread no doubt. But I never want to see one again ever.

Now if I can just call MY credit card company and demand that they stop sending me those "quick cash" checks. THOSE, I shread no doubt. But I never want to see one again ever.

Good luck. I actually did call my CC company, and ask them to stop sending those stupid checks. They didn't.

Greetings!

Let's start with the horror stories and move on from there...

I have never been hit with ID theft, but I have had my cell phone cloned twice (in the old days of analog signal).

I know two people who have had their identity stolen. One of them, very well (my boss - Monmouth county, NJ). In his case, he got off lucky. It was only one fraudulent credit card in his name and identity being billed to / shipping to the Bronx. He was able to get everything cleared up quite quickly (a few months), but even years after he would get letters from collection agents. They buy and sell each other lists of "bad debt" in hopes of getting one return in 1,000. Just like spammers. One letter to them along with a cease and desist order stops that one, but they just resell it to someone else... All of this occurred while he was in the middle of applying for financial aid for his daughter's college! Ugly.

More horror stories, many far worse, can be seen on the government's ID Theft resource site. Possible nasty case scenarios include: getting a criminal record under someone else's name, getting life insurance and declaring yourself dead, changing your address and redirecting your other mail and bills, etc...

They can get your data from dumpster diving, stealing incoming mail (including pre-approved credit card notices) from your mailbox (yes, I have seen this happen - that is how my boss "got it") but social engineering and paying off someone for the information (inside jobs) is easier. Do you actually write your social security number or driver's license number on anything you give to, say, your doctor's office? When you pay bills? Buying groceries with a check? Do they destroy that information after they are done???

I personally shred everything! I also opt out of any new credit card offers, credit offers of any form and all junk mail possible. I never give my social security number, driver's license number or date of birth on anything. I deliberately lie on those "security questions" that are asked by web sites - using something that I will remember, but is not completely accurate. If someone asks me for what I consider sensitive information, I ask myself why (how will they use it) and go accordingly. Why does my doctor's office want my driver's license number? Why does the company I ordered my computer case want my social security number and date of birth? In many of these cases, I just leave the question blank, and explain if necessary. Very rarely has it caused problems.

Paranoia, probably. But having seen what is involved with fixing this kind of thing, it is better to get into a habit of being a bit more cautious than getting burned and having to spend a year or two trying to fix it.

As for shredders, do not count on being able to rip your junk up small enough. This morning in the driveway, there was a small fragment of paper, perhaps 1/8th of a standard (US standard, that is) 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper. On that fragment was someone's name (from down the street - it has been windy), the company's name, the statement that their request for credit has been denied and that it was because of previous delinquencies... Not what I would want floating around in the neighborhood.

(For Blue Man Group fans, there is Exhibit 13 in memory of the World Trade Center / Pentagon attacks.)

A normal shredder changes your 8.5" wide sheet into, maybe, 0.25" strips. But these strips are still 11" long, and tend to bulk fill recycle bins quickly. A cross cut shredder will cut 4 or 5 times along that 11" length, so you have small confetti bits instead of long strips. They pack much more densely for recycle and you do not have to empty the bin as often.

Is it paranoia if the world is really out to get you?

Thanks for the tips Paul. And thanks for the clarification on cross cutting, as I look down at my bag of maybe 20 shreaded unused check books. Makes me wonder, if I shread the document the right way, the strip will be long, but you'll only see a few letters per line, thus making any information difficult to obtain. If I shread it the wrong way, yes, you can read entire widths of my document. Is shreading it the "right way" good enough?

Oh, and you recycle shreaded paper?? Darn, my stupid county doesn't accept junk mail recycling anymore.

And about paranoia, consider this: You've got a tight defense on your identity, but ONE slip up and it could be identity thieft. Worse, what if your identity was stolen and "put on a list" before you started your defenses? It could be used at a later date, subverting all your hard work.

My point is, should I start obsessively protecting my identity (in junk mail, in person, and online) even though I've been slightly careless about it up until now? I don't want to do all that obsessive work for nothing, basicaly.

That and I don't want to throw all that junk mail in the trash as shreaded paper. I really want to recycle it....

That and I don't want to throw all that junk mail in the trash as shreaded paper. I really want to recycle it....

Do you have a backyard? Leaves and grass clippings? Compost it.

Greetings!

No problem. Shredding stuff "the right way" is something I always tried to do before I bought a cross cutting shredder. But there are some times when it is just not as practical, and you have to pay more attention. It is certainly good enough in most cases.

As to recycling, I cheat. I build up a bag of shreds (or junk mail that is so generic it doesn't need it) and bring it with me to the office. We have a huge recycling plan here, so I just put it in the cube recycle bin. It is just a little every day (except for "bags of shreds" days), so it works out well. That, and they find recyclers for the glossy stuff too. Or perhaps that is too strong - it becomes their problem (and the company they hire) to deal with it.

Paranoia. It never hurts to start protecting yourself. Granted, one slip could cause a problem, but it is also a matter of probability. There is no certain defense against identity theft or fraud. You need to do business in the real world, and that information is necessary. Example: if you write personal checks to pay bills, your checking account routing number is floating around to anyone with access to (or intercepting) that check.

But it comes down to threat assessment and probability. I make it as hard as possible and leave as few windows open for this kind of thing. Sure, it can happen. But the odds of it happening are far less because of those precautions.

If you are very concerned, I strongly recommend joining a credit watch service. All three of the credit reporting companies offer a service where they monitor your credit history and inform you immediately of any changes. It also gives you a good baseline of where your credit is today and what is on the credit reports. This way, if something does slip by and your identity is stolen, you have documentation of when it started, find out about it much sooner and can control the damage much more easily.

It is not really obsessing. I don't have to watch every day and only use cash for every transaction. It doesn't change the way I live or anything. It is just a series of habits you develop or cultivate over time. Save and/or destroy receipts, ask yourself why someone needs the information they are asking for and what they will do with it, stuff like that. More than anything else, it is just a matter of being aware of your surroundings, what can happen and to be alert.

Well, thanks for the tips. Now I look twice at those credit card offers before putting them in the recycle bin.

So, you bring your recycling junk mail to work, eh? Haha, mind if I swing by some time? I have my ENTIRE station wagon FULL with a year's worth of junk mail (and some cardboard). Getting it the HECK out of my car is motivation to find SOME place to recycle it.

But, if I'm opening myself up to dumpster diving, maybe I should just drive my car off a cliff and into the ocean.... ANYTHING to get rid of it.