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For some years now, many banking institutions have gone the extra added-value mile by scheduling “shred days” for customers with good reason, as multiple millions of people in this country alone have been hit by identity theft. While technology has altered the way in which much of our sensitive information is stored, there remains plenty of paper data and information stored on electronic mobile devices that could create a mountain of identity problems if appropriated by the wrong hands.
One hastily discarded piece of paper has the potential to disrupt and destroy and for this very reason, the importance of bank “shred days” is more than relevant – it’s vital. This holds true particularly for those customers who, in the absence of a shredder at home, might resort to shredding by hand and mistakenly keep some sensitive information intact enough for a thief to take advantage.
ATM receipts, tax returns, account statements, paycheck stubs, insurance policies, loan information provide a “kid in a candy store” environment for the criminally-minded. Most of what we hear on the news deals with IT cybersecurity threats, but the very same potential for human error that leads to cyber hacking exists for sensitive information stored on paper. A mere one or two pieces of personal information left in a trash bin is all that is required to steal an identity.
Picking Through Trash Is Legal
It’s worth noting that the U.S. Supreme Court has indicated that someone can legally dig through trash if it is left in a public dumpster or trash bin. Once the trash is placed there, that person, small company or large corporate entity has essentially forfeited their ownership rights to the items, as the property is now in the public domain. Credit card receipts, bank account numbers, passwords, PIN numbers, Social Security numbers: any and more of such private information is legally there for the picking by the unscrupulous.
And consider what this might mean to a small “mom and pop” business that has made great strides and is now branching out. Target markets and prospect information, long and short-term strategies, product designs, partnership arrangements; even with just one or two of these critical confidential items, a competitor could sabotage the future of a company.
The need to defend against assaults on private information also extends to another form of “written” material – hard drives. Identity thieves can collect confidential information by mining it from discarded hard drives; hard drives that are reformatted can also often be restored using special software. Even if it appears hard drives and other disposable media have been wiped clean, they may still hold information that could prove damaging if in the wrong hands.
The sole guaranteed method to securely dispose of retired hard drives and tapes is to shred them into very small pieces. There exist a number of shredding service firms that in addition to permanently destroying paper documents can also destroy hard drives, tapes, smartphones and other media containing sensitive information.
Where Banks Come In
With all that said, how do banks best help their customers on this important issue?
First and foremost, shred days are great in terms of educating the public on the importance of securely shedding documents. It additionally provides a good service to customers who bring in materials to be shredded. Providing this extra service is always good for any bank looking to keep its customer base loyal. And, it’s a great way for a bank to get some “earned media” or PR coverage, either through the shredding company’s PR efforts or the bank’s own initiatives.
Banks can provide a genuine service to their residential and commercial customers by partnering with a shredding service that provides locked bins and consoles to collect sensitive documents for transport back to the shredding company where they are destroyed. Some such services also offer on-site mobile shredding; this is the best choice for banks conducting “shredding days” to provide customers that extra level of security knowing their sensitive documents are being destroyed onsite and will not be transported elsewhere.
As with any service partner, it’s always wise to conduct research before forming a relationship. Ask for references, the vendor’s work history in the area, and have him/her walk you through the process they use to be certain that documents are securely destroyed. Another consideration is whether the shredding service has a relationship with recyclers, particularly for financial institutions with sustainability improvement programs.
Offering “shredding days” ties in with a bank’s dedication to financial literacy. Providing an opportunity for customers to protect their no longer needed, but sensitive documents from probing eyes and sticky fingers is a service that can extend beyond one or two dedicated shredding events. And it can pay huge dividends for a bank looking to distinguish itself from the rest of the pack.
(tag)Rick Carey is a partner and founder of Destruction.com, a Datasafe company.
