Community Chat

[conlt]

I have a couple of strories to share. About a year ago 2 things happened. One evening I was coming home from work late and I saw a woman steal my neighbors garbage bag and walk down the street. Mine was also gone but mine actually had only bird cage papers, seed, pellets and bird wast (I bet they loved digging in that bag), but wait, there is more. I also got 2 letters from the USPS postmaster general stating that they are investigating mail thefts in my area. I called the postmaster general and he told me there had been mail thefts in my area and wanted to know if I had any mail taken. I had been missing some credit card bills but I thought that it was just a postal error. Fast forward to last week and I get a letter from the Department of Justice as a victim of mail fraud, I had the right to know about the case at hand. A woman who lived a couple of streets away was stealing mail, opening up credit card accounts, buying items on-line, selling or pawning them. She is being prosecuted in federal court for mail fraud. They found thousands of mail items from the local neighborhood in her house as well as 147 typed out names, birth dates.  social security numbers. I do remember all at once I got called from 3 credit card companies that detected fraud. I don't think otherwise I have been affected, however the investigator must have found my mail at her house and/or my personal information, however I am really careful about that. So beware, I live in a regular low crime neighborhood. 

[NYC Susan]

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@gidgetgh wrote:

I’m a world class shredder. It’s easy and pretty much takes the “what if” out of the equation. 

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Me too.  It's not about people going thru trash - We never know where papers will end up.  Personally, I'd rather have one less thing to worry about.  

[MsCatLuver]

 Thank you to everyone who took the time to reply to my post. I found your answers very interesting. Of course, the cost of a shredder or taking measures to protect identity as well worth it.

I was just wondering the likelihood of somebody actually going through my trash. I guess I just Can't picture this happening.

Again, I appreciate Your opinions.

[MsCatLuver]

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@ShowMe wrote:

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@Imaoldhippie wrote:

An ounce of prevention........................

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Heck, I use more than an ounce of prevention.  I mix some of those papers in amongst dirty stinky cat litter.  Don't believe anyone would like to go through that to get information......

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Fabulous 

[Anita Hug]

I shred everything, though I often wonder why I bother. In my area, there is more of a problem with mailbox theft, and there isn't much we can do about that except repeatedly report it and make sure to retreive my mail as soon as possible after it is delivered.

It's much eaier for theives to stroll around peeping in mailboxes for mail, credit card statements, etc than it is to tear into trash cans! 

Edited to add - I also signed up for USPS informed delivery so that I will know what I should expect in my mailbox, and to report anything that never shows up or was possibly stolen.  Also have paperless option on as many accounts as possible to reduce the amount of personal information being sent on paper to my home in the first place. The less coming in, the less there is to have to shred/ destroy on the way out!

[Remar]

You would be shocked at the lengths thieves will go through. Don't take any chances. We live in the country so we burn all papers and recycle everything else.

I never thought we would be robbed. It's so rare that my house is empty but the middle of April, with my car in the driveway because I was with my sister, our home was robbed. It's been beyond devastating, mainly because they took my original wedding rings and because we're 99.9% sure we know who did it. We thought the police would be able to take care of it. We found out that criminals have many more rights than we do.

We've never had our indetities stolen but we have had our debit cards and credit cards "broken" in to several times. It's such a pain because we have to wait to get new cards. Thank goodness our bank an credit card companies caught it so we weren't charged for anything.

I know a couple of people who have had their indetities stolen and it's a nightmare. You can be turned down for loans, it can ruin your credit and it can take a very long time to get straightened out. So if you can't burn important papers get a shredder and use it because criminals will do anything to get our information, especially if your SSI number, credit card number, banks account number and things like that are on any of your papers.

It's best to be safe.

[reiki604]

Every 3 months or so AARP sets a a public shredding event. I collect and save everything with an account number on it and bring it for them to shred. They allow you to watch them put your bags be put into the giant shedder for peace of mind.

[Silver Lining]

My younger sister and I lived in the same city until she  moved to another state a couple of years ago. She was a teacher at a juvenile detention facility. You would be surprised at the lengths some of the "kids" went through to steal credit card numbers, etc. They would actually steal shreded paper from trash cans to piece together credit cards, bank, medical and other documents that had info they could use to open accounts or make online purchases. They said it wasn't terribly difficult, especially if a confetti type shredder hadn't been used.  

[RedTop]

In this area, people often go thru trash looking for recyclables, like scrap metal and copper.   Over a 2 year period, we collected the copper wiring from the cords of our old appliances, which put nearly $30 in our pockets.   Anyone looking for a broken hair dryer or mixer, but finds personal information as well, might be tempted to do something illegal.

[shortbreadlover]

i shred everything with my name or address on it.  why take a chance?