To safeguard your personal privacy and help protect yourself from identity theft, fraud, and stalking; you should have a document shredder in your home. The type of shredder that you should buy depends upon your personal security requirements and the number of things you need to shred on a regular basis.
First let’s consider security levels. The security level of a shredder is broadly defined by how small the shredded pieces are and thus how difficult it would be for an adversary to reassemble a document or read information from shredded pieces of a document. The security levels also take into consideration the type of material being shredded (microfilm requires much smaller shredding than paper documents). For home use, and for most users in general, we will consider three general types of shredders: Strip-Cut, Cross-Cut, and Micro-Cut. Security levels run from P-1 (the lowest level) to P-6 (the highest level). Most shredders intended for home use have P-2 security if they are strip-cut, P-3 security if they are cross-cut, and P-4 if they are micro-cut.
Strip-cut shredders cut paper into long, thin, strips. Strip shredders can handle high volumes of paper and are good for low-level security documents (to include some home use). A better option however is a Cross-cut shredder which cuts documents into small pieces, usually less than two-inches in length. Cross-cut shredders are the most commonly used in both home and commercial environments. A cross-cut shredder will provide excellent security for almost any home use. Micro-cut shredders are like cross-cut shredders, but cut documents into even smaller pieces. If you need to destroy very sensitive documents, or believe you are being directly targeted by a corporate or state level adversary, then a micro-cut shredder is recommended.
Next let’s consider usage levels. How many documents do you need to shred at one time? Do you need to shred optical media such as CD/DVD, and other non-paper items such as credit cards? What volume of material do you need to shred at any one time (i.e. how long do you need the shredder to run for before it needs a cool-down period)? Most home use does not require a high-volume shredder, since we are probably shredding fewer than twenty sheets of paper at any one time. We may not need to shred documents for hours on end, but being able to simply drop junk mail into the shredder without having to open it is useful. Choosing a shredder that has the ability to shred at least eight sheets of paper at the same time allows you to shred folded documents (i.e. a folder letter) without having to open them first. Having the ability to shred CD/DVDs and credit cards is also useful if you have a computer in your home and store any type of personal or sensitive information on CD/DVD.
Examples of good document shredders for home use include:
It is possible to find documents shredders for a little bit less money ($30 - $50), but these cheaper shredders tend not to hold up to continuous use. Still, if you are looking for a home shredder for occasional use, the Amazon Basics 12-Sheet Cross-Cut Paper, CD, and Credit Card Shredder is a reasonable choice.
The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (https://www.privacyrights.org) recommends shredding the following documents:
- Monthly bills. Even if you bank online, also shred payment coupons, which might contain your full account number, even if the bill did not.
- Receipts or other papers that show your signature, which ID thieves could use to forge other documents.
- Employer pay stubs.
- Documents that contain account information, such as statements from your bank, credit-card companies, 401(k) administrator, and broker and other investment statements. Don't forget courtesy checks from your credit-card issuer or bank. Call that source and ask it to stop sending the checks.
- Anything that contains your Social Security number, including annual statements from the Social Security Administration. Don't forget old identification cards, including an expired driver's license.
- Expired credit cards, and prescreened credit-card offers and applications, even if they contain incorrect personal information. All can be used to obtain fake credit cards.
- Explanation-of-benefits forms from your medical insurer. They usually include your member ID number, which leaves you vulnerable to medical-ID theft. Also shred papers and labels with prescription numbers on them.
- Tax forms and tax-related documents more than seven years old.
- Any documents that list a password or PIN, and anything else with personal information that you wouldn't want a stranger to see.
- All mail from your financial institution, including change-of-terms notices. Even documents that don't have account information can tell fraudsters a little more about you than you might want them to know.
- Documents from companies you've done business with recently, including those from recent travel. Thieves could call you masquerading as a representative from one of those businesses to try to trick you into disclosing personal information.
