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A1 Shredding & Recycling

How To Choose A Shredding Company

The threat of a fines from the FTC is preying on everyone’s minds. And unfortunately, there are some ruthless shredding services companies out there jumping on the bandwagon by offering what they claim to be a secure document destruction solution.

But before agreeing to what, on the surface may seem a good deal, dig a little deeper and consider the following;

1. Is the shredding company accredited?
   Check if the shredding company you’re considering is registered with the state and the National Association of Information Destruction (NAID). As an accredited member, companies offering shredding services are required to adhere to stringent standards . This ensures the security of all aspects of their business; from their premises, vehicles and employees through to the size the materials are shredded to.
2. Will you be provided with evidence of document destruction?
   Following document destruction, you should be issued with a certificate of destruction detailing the type of material destroyed, the amount destroyed and the date it was destroyed on. Each document destruction certificate should also contain a unique reference number which means you are provided with a complete audit trail of the shredding service.
3. Are their employees security checked?
   Due to the secure nature of the role, it’s important to ensure the personnel handling your confidential information are security cleared. Make sure that their employees have completed background checks.
4. Do they offer an on-site shredding service?
   Using an on-site document destruction company guarantees the security of your documents your confidential, sensitive material is destroyed on site and in your view. If an off-site service suits you better, make sure the material collected is destroyed within 24 hours. Also, ensure the transportation of the material is “trackable” and the document destruction and recycling facility itself is fully secure.
5. Does the shredding company provide secure storage containers?
   Are these containers secure and lockable? Are they high quality and do they look good? Will they help you decide how many you need and will they fit in with the rest of your office furniture?
6. Can they provide a national and flexible service?
   Is the mobile shredding company regularly in your area? Do they have a base in the area? Check to ensure that alongside a regular scheduled shredding service, they have the flexibility and capacity to accommodate adhoc collections and large “clutter clearouts”.
7. How environmentally friendly are they?
   Review their green credentials. What happens to your materials once they’re destroyed? Are they recycled? Do they operate a tree planting scheme? Do they operate green routes as well as using lighter, quieter vehicles to further reduce their carbon footprint?
8. Will they securely destroy other media? Its not just paper that contains sensitive and confidential information. Hard drives, memory sticks, CDs/DVDs and laptops can all still store confidential files even after deletion and should be completely destroyed.
9. What insurances do they have? Make sure the shredding company you decide to use is properly covered. Check they have up to date employers’ liability, public liability and product liability. Professional indemnity insurance is also a bonus.
10. Are they bonded?
    In the event that there is a security breach, are they willing to stand behind there service. Bonding helps to insure that a company is willing to accept responsibility for their staff, and its another company to back them up. This process helps to build confidence and trust.

14 Ways To Prevent Identity Theft

The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act, known commonly as FACTA, was put into law in the United States to help to protect consumers from identity theft and to help in its prevention. FACTA ensures that all citizens are treated fairly when they apply for a mortgage or other form of credit and it entitles them to a free annual credit report to verify its accuracy.

Becoming a major epidemic, Identity Theft occurs when a criminal uses another person’s personal information to take on that person’s identity. Identity theft includes the misuse of a Social Security number, credit cards, mail fraud, scam, schemes, frauds, or any other form of misuse or abuse of a victim’s identity.

There is no guarantee that you will never be a victim; however, there are steps you can take to minimize your risk. Here is a list of 14 steps you can take to prevent or at least minimize its occurrence:

1. Shred your sensitive materials. Don’t trust the trash. Tossing sensitive materials in the garbage creates a gold mine for thieves. Once its outside, anyone can take advantage, and pick up your social security numbers, bank account numbers, statements, credit card numbers and more!

2. Manage your personal information cautiously and with a new awareness that identity theft can occur anytime anywhere and when you least expect it.

3. Ask about security procedures in your workplace, doctor’s office, or other business or organization that routinely collects relevant and personal identifying information as part of doing business or providing a service. Find out who has access to your personal information and verify that it is handled securely. Inquire about their disposal procedures and if your information will be shared with anyone else (namely third parties such as mailing list companies, marketing and survey companies, etc.).

4. Instead of giving your Social Security Number, inquire if you can use other types of identification. Use your Social Security Number with caution and only when absolutely necessary.“Your Chances of becoming victimized by some form of identity theft is one in ten,” according to the Federal Trade Commission.

5. If you find that you have been victimized, immediately file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC maintains a database of identity theft cases used by law enforcement agencies for investigations. Filing a complaint helps the FTC learn more about identity theft and the problems victims are having. This knowledge helps them to assist you better.

6. Carry only the identification and the number of credit and debit cards that you will actually use. Leave extra cards in a safe place at home, in a safety deposit box, or any other secured location.

7. Avoid giving out personal information on the phone, through the mail, or on the Internet unless you are absolutely sure you know and can trust with whom you are communicating. Caution: Before you share personal information, be sure you are dealing with a legitimate business or organization. (If you are unsure about an online communication, check the organization’s website by typing its URL in the address line. Most large companies post alerts on their sites when they are aware of a scam when their name is used improperly.) Identity thieves usually pose as representatives of banks, lotteries, sweepstakes, Internet service providers, or some other officially-sounding-entity. They will use any means possible to try to get you to reveal your valuable information.

8. Call the Customer Service Department of companies or organizations with whom you do business using the number listed on your account statement or in the telephone book.

9. Do not place passwords on your credit card, bank, or telephone accounts.\n\n9. When choosing a password, avoid using obvious information like your mother’s maiden name, your birth date, a series of consecutive numbers, or the last four digits of your Social Security Number or your phone number.

10. Pay attention to your billing cycles. A missing bill could mean an identity thief has gotten their hands on it. “9.9 million people were victims of identity theft in 2002″, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Don’t wait until it happens to you.

11. Be wary of promotional scams or phony offers to get you to give them your personal information such as lottery and sweepstakes  that you have never entered and ones asking for an “administration” fee.

12. If your job requires you to suit up in special clothing at work, never leave your purse or wallet in your personal clothes. Always keep them in a safe and secured place.

13. When reordering checks, pick them up at the bank instead of having them sent to your mailbox.

14. Obtain a current credit report by contacting any of these major credit bureaus:
Equifax: P.O. Box 740241 Atlanta, GA 30374-0241
For Fraud Alerts, call: 800-525-6285
Experian: P.O. Box 2002 Allen TX 75013
For Fraud Alerts, call: 888-EXPERIAN (397-3742)
Trans Union: P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022
For Fraud Alerts, call: 800-680-7289

How To Best Dispose Of Business Documents

Have you ever wondered why some offices and other small business bother to spend their time and money on paper shredding machines or services? Surely they can just recycle the paper by using the blank side, or shipping it off to an organization that can deal with the pulping and put the natural resource to good use, rather than cut down more trees.

Well, they are afraid, and quite rightly so, that the information contained on the paper may get into the wrong hands. I have no idea exactly how long ago, but some companies learned the hard way about inter-business espionage and how easy it is to obtain information from going through a competitor’s skip or bins. Nowadays, it rarely happens because any company with a half-decent set up will know about the potential problems and preventative procedures from the beginning.

So, you may ask, why don’t they just recycle in-house? Well, in almost every company there is a member of staff who is less loyal than the management give them credit for, and they may feel dishonest enough to leak the information, too lazy to deal with the paperwork properly, or just plain oblivious to what is required of them.

Burning the paper is a fantastically secure way to destroy the information, but the environment has already paid a price when the trees were cut down. It is not fair to then pollute the atmosphere with the poisonous gases from a paper fire. Secure paper shredding has become an important part of any business that processes information, about themselves or their clients, and prints it.

Some smaller companies will get themselves a small shredding machine, or pay for the services of a local company to come and either take the documents away for shredding, or do it on site. Larger companies may need to have their own department for such activities, or will need to employ a well-established and reliable company to do it for them.

Why do it on site? Well, it is all about trust, and not giving anyone the opportunity to betray that trust doesn’t mean you actually distrust them, but it will ease any concerns or prevent temptation. Confidential documents need to be shredded thoroughly, as individuals’ personal information should not be available for any other party to access, and the company’s data needs to be securely stored or destroyed.

Where do you find a trustworthy and reliable business to securely shred your confidential paperwork? Online there will definitely be one near you, but be sure that they are able to meet your criteria and, if they collect to shred elsewhere, make sure that they come into the building and not just collect from a dumpster or skip in the car park.

Contact Us Today For More Information

Atlanta Document Destruction Company

Why Document Destruction?

Each day, businesses and individuals generate materials containing sensitive information which could have costly repercussions without proper handling. From theft and misuse, to incurring unnecessary storage charges and legal fines, it is necessary to have a legally compliant, cost-effective means of destroying this information once its required retention period has been met. Document destruction and shredding is the solution.

A1 Shredding & Recycling is AAA Certified by the National Association for Information Destruction (NAID). We fully understand your needs and concerns. Our Atlanta Based Team has over 15 years of combined experience and is committed to serving you with the utmost care and service to make sure you have the best document shredding program possible.

A1 Shredding & Recycling provides:

Security

1. Documents to be destroyed are placed in secured containers which are provided free of charge.
2. Document shredding occurs at your location allowing you to monitor the process.
3. Document shredding is conducted by qualified, uniformed personnel with no direct ties to your information.
4. A Certificate of Destruction is provided upon completion of the shredding process.

Legal Compliance

• HIPAA – Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
• GLBA – Gramm Leach Bliley Act
• FACTA – The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003
• Georgia Information Privacy Act SB475

Cost Savings

• Eliminates the need to purchase and maintain in-house equipment.
• Eliminates unnecessary storage costs.
• Enables employees to focus on taking care of your business.
  Avoid costly legal fines.
• Environmental Responsibility

Recycling one ton of paper:

• Saves enough energy to power the average American home for six months.
• Saves 7,000 gallons of water.
• Saves 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space.
• Reduces greenhouse gas emissions by one metric ton of carbon equivalent (MTCE).

Atlanta Document Destruction Company Serving All of Georgia Including: Alpharetta, Roswell, Marietta, Norcross, Duluth, Sandy Springs, Cumming, Woodstock, Kennesaw, Lawrenceville, Decatur, College Park, Tucker, Lithonia, Stone Mountain, Buford, Canton, Dallas, Lagrange, Macon, Warner Robins, Savannah, Columbus, Albany, Thomasville, Bainbridge, and more!

Avoiding Employee Data Theft

Stealing sensitive information from employers has become “endemic” in our culture. According to a survey sponsored by information security company, Cyber-Ark Software, 41% of employees have taken sensitive data from their previous employer and brought the information to their current employer.

Some 26% of respondents also said that they would pass on company information if it proved useful in getting friends or family a job.

So how do we ensure that our information is always secure and will never get into the wrong hands?

Here are a few simple tips regarding you protecting your company’s information:

Take stock of it.

Audit what information you have and where your company stores sensitive data. Look at what confidential information you have (sales information, pricing, HR records, financial reports, customer information etc) and where it is kept (file cabinets, computer, files at home etc). Find out who has access to that information and what restrictions, if any, are in place. Start to look at what should have restrictive access depending on the types of information and the different levels of risk.

Reduce it.

What information should you keep and what shouldn’t you keep? Keep only what you need for your business, if you don’t have a legitimate business need for keeping it then don’t retain it. Only keep information for as long as you need to and then destroy it.

Lock it.

The most effective data security is to look at physical security of your documents by making sure they are under lock and key with restricted access, and electronic security by ensuring that your IT provider implements robust security procedures for your computer systems. Employee training is crucial to ensure that staff are aware of your policies for keeping information secure and the disciplinary consequences if they breach them.

Destroy it.

Confidential documents in open bags lying around in the office or in a skip outside your office can be a gold mine for ID thefts and opportunists who want to view or steal your information. By properly disposing of sensitive information your company is significantly reducing the risk of information getting into the wrong hands which can have huge financial consequences and implications for your company. Review your current method of document destruction.

If you use an external contractor to dispose of your waste, carry out an immediate review of the process that they adopt to destroy your documents and assess how secure that process is. With the legal requirements of the Data Protection Act, the growth in ID Fraud and the many stories in the media of organizations losing data, this is an essential way to start thinking about information and security.

Shredding Events Marietta

Special Shredding Event in Marietta

Lassiter Band Booster Community Recycle Day!

Join A1 Shredding and Recycling and for a special shredding event in Marietta Georgia. Bring your boxes of sensitive documents for great discounts on secure and confidential document destruction services.

Our mobile shredding unit will be onsite to shred your documents while you watch.

How It Works

1. Collect your documents in boxes, bags, or whatever you like.
2. No need to remove paper clips, staples, etc.
3. Price is $10 for the first *box and $5 per additional box

*Standard Box Size is 15″x12″x10″ and holds 35 lbs.

Marietta Shredding Event Details

When: March 17th, 2012

Time: 9am – 5pm

Where: Lassiter High School
2600 Shallowford Road, Marietta GA 30066

View Larger Map

Come out and join A1 Shredding and Recycling for this special shredding event in Marietta and save on your shredding costs.

If you have any questions, please give us a call!

A1 Shredding and Recycling  (678) 607-5243