Prevent Identity Theft - Fellowes Shredders can help with that!
Did you know that identity theft is the most serious, non-violent crime and fastest growing type of fraud in North America? My hubby had his identity stolen and after experiencing and seeing what happened to him I don't want anyone to ever go through that. We are going to share some tips on how you can help protect your identity and Fellowes shredders can help.
For more great tips and fabulous prizes make sure to join us for the #FellowesProtects Twitter party on March 7, 2018m 9 am PST/12 Noon EST. More info below on how to join the party.
It's no small amount of work to get your name back when identity theft happens. My hubby had to some extent provide proof, as the person who stole his identity claimed unemployment insurance in his name, got credit cards and oh so much more. Fortunately, we were able to clear it all up but it took a few years, yes years. Now we are more vigilant about protecting our identity as what happened to him affect all of us.
A shredder like our Fellowes AutoMax 200C Cross-Cut Shredder that shreds up to 200 sheets of paper into cross-cut particles, shreds CDs/DVDs, credit cards, staples, paper clips and junk mail. We make sure to shred old bank statements, credit card statements, expired credit cards and anything that has even one bit of personal information on it.
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To help you Prevent Identity Theft we're sharing these 10 tips:
SHRED IT - Anything with your name and address on it
GO PAPERLESS - Most companies and service providers offer customers the option of digital billing. Not having bills sent to homes eliminates excess paper, and lessens the chance someone else will pick up or intercept your mail
KNOW YOUR MAIL CYCLE - Make sure you know when you're scheduled to get what in the mail. If you have suddenly stopped receiving certain bills follow up with the provider to see if your address was changed.
PROTECT YOUR PIN - Be aware of your surroundings when using your PIN for your debit or credit card
DOUBLE CHECK STATEMENTS - Keep track of what's on your statement and look out for suspicious charges
USE A CREATIVE PASSWORD - Don't go with the obvious or easy to figure out passwords
ALWAYS LOG OUT - For any online banking make sure you always log out of a computer, especially if it's at your workplace and/or a shared computer
SECURE YOUR HOME MAILBOX - If possible, invest in a mailbox that only you can access.
PROTECT PERSONAL INFO - Always be careful who you give out personal information too and never carry your birth certificate or SIN card.
KNOW WHO TO CALL - If you think you've fallen victim to fraud call your bank and have them cancel your cards immediately. Then contact your local police department (non-emergency number) to file a report and Canada's main credit agencies.
That may sound like a lot but they're all easy to do and once you get in the habit it will take no time at all. For example, we shred any documents one day a week so that it doesn't pile up. When you have a Fellowes shredder like our Fellowes AutoMax 200C Cross-Cut Shredder it's so easy to do! It's equipped with the AccuFeed system, it provides fast automatic shredding for increased productivity.
My favourite feature of our Fellowes AutoMax 200C Cross-Cut Shredder is that I can add 200 sheets of paper to the tray, press a button and walk away while it shreds it as you saw in the video above! It also has auto reverse jam prevention where it will automatically stop and reverse if a jam occurs.
Make sure to prevent identity theft by following the above tips and if you don't have a Fellowes shredder yet, make that your first step. It's an easy way to help vent identity theft and if you're like both my hubby and I who each run their own business you will find it's a must-have. Even if you don't run a business it's a must-have to protect your personal information!
Where to buy Fellowes Shredders:
- Costco/ Costco.ca – Fellowes shredder – 200 Sheet Cross Cut AutoFeed
- Canadian Tire / CanadianTire.ca – Powershred XC-6 – 6 Sheet Cross Cut
To get you started one lucky Powered by Mom reader will win the exact same shredder that we own the Fellowes AutoMax 200C Cross-Cut Shredder. GO HERE to enter.
I always make sure to log out of any banking site even if it’s on my own computer. I have been signing up to get all bills paperless. On Facebook have even put my privatate setting changed so that people can’t find me by googling my name
This is very informative and I realize I need to take more steps to protect myself! Thank you!
I love that you can add sheets to a tray and walk away. My shredder broke so i'n doing it by hand
Great tips! I love that you can add sheets to a tray and walk away. I have to stand there and feed sheets in with our current shredder.
This is great! I've never heard of a shredder that allows me to put so much paper (200 sheets) in the tray and just leave as it does the job. Very convenient.
Thank you for your informative review, I love that you can add up to 200 sheets of paper to the tray of the Fellowes AutoMax 200C Cross-Cut Shredder and walk away as it does its work
Thank you for reminding everyone about this very real and destructive threat! It's amazing how easy it is for criminals to access our private information. I think because it is a "white-collar" and "non-violent" crime, that the punishments are not strong enough yet. All we can do is spread the word on how to protect ourselves - information is power!
I did not realize identity theft is the fastest growing type of fraud in North America. The tip about not carrying your birth certificate and sin card on you is very important. I just memorized my SIN number. I am impressed how this shredder you can put in up to 200 sheets according to the video and just come back when done.
It shreds staples, paper clips, credit cards, CDs/DVDs!! I'd settle for a new (my current shredder is ancient) cross-cut shredder. This machine is ideal. I have years upon years of old files I need to shred. This machine would be heaven. 🙂
This post is very informative! There’s a lot that I didn’t know which I’ve learned from reading this.
I have an even better tip. If you’re worried about identity theft on paper, I have the perfect solution. Throw any such worrisome items in your bathroom trash. Then, those thieves would get EXACTLY what they deserve!
I like that is shredder has an automatic power off feature. Cross shredding, high capacity shredding and the large bin are also great!
Thanks for the tips on how to protect oneself against identity theft.
Identity theft is such a modern day problem. It's so important to shred personal information.
My husband had a bell account opened in his name by a complete stranger. It cost us money to fight the charges because we had to go to a paralegal to get documents to prove he wasn't the owner. Since then we shred everything. You can never be too safe.
You can never be too careful about protecting your personal information. Your story proves that and shows me that it is important to be vigilant and protective.
Really need this in my life right now, have lots of shredding to be done!
I love that you can add sheets to a tray and walk away. I have to stand there and feed sheets in with our shredder.
I appreciate the suggestion to go paperless! I already have, but I never thought of it from a security angle. Now I can feel even better about that choice!
Wow identity theft huge issue
These are great tips and we follow these here. We also have a shredder that we use on a regular basis. This one sounds nice!
I didn't think about the knowing one's mail cycle to prevent identity theft, but this is a good tip.
It might not be Violent, but it is just as destructive. You are you for your enttire life and then all of a sudden, someone else is you, and YOU have to prove otherwise.
Wow! I did not realize it would take that long (years) to clear up the mess from identity theft.
I should really do more to protect my identity . Had a scare with my credit card , luckily the bank caught it right away . These are great tips .
The Tips are awesome. I had my identity stolen but not in the worst way like some horror stories I have heard . It did take almost a year to clear up. I did recieve restitution but will always be wary of my personal information wherever I am.
I need to make sure I log out of sites, didn't know that was important
we have this exact shredder at my office and it is excellent! i love that you can put a huge stack of papers into the shredder drawer and just walk away and let it do all the work.
thank you for the tips to LOG OUT of accounts on the computer as well!
Thanks for sharing Angela 🙂
These are good suggestions. I've gotten caught in many of the data breaches, and so try to be as careful as I can.
Some good tips - thanks. Some things I am doing but I can definitely do a lot more to protect my information!
I learnt that it would take a long time to clear up an identity theft issue.
I love that this has an auto feeder and eats staples. Awesome!
Great information! Thanks for sharing - very informative!
I had the bank actually call me at work when they saw something that seemed out of the ordinary (Someone refilling a star bucks gift card lol)
I had my CC cancelled immediately by them and a new one issued right away
Thank you for the great list of tips. Although I do most of these, it never hurts to be reminded to check our level of protection. I have not totally switched to paperless bills, but do have a protected mail box. I probably should shred more often than I do right now and will be trying to create a better routine.
I shred documents. This shredder is sooooo much bigger.
Love that it can shred so many papers all at once including credit cards
We really need one of these. Currently, I shred into little pieces by hand which is not the ideal method.
I do not give out my personal information and my pin number is not given to anyone!
I would love to win this shredder to help with shredding important documents.
This sounds like a great shredder! I think everyone should have one, I really do need to get one! I think its important to shred things that people could use against you to steal your identity!
that you don't have to take the staples out! Saves so much time 🙂
I like that you can shred so many papers at once. I would give it a try!
I ordered this shredder at work and returned it. if memory serves me correctly, the tray didnt take legal sheets and the paper in the tray kept jamming. You also had to take the time to line up all the sheets of paper neatly in the tray,to prevent jamming) which was time consuming when you were grabbing large amts of paper out the shredding bin to do the shredding. Cross cut shredding is good but the pieces of paper were still too wide and info was still easily readable. I would still use this at home as I have a large amt of junk mail and my daughters school work that could be shredded in this machine
The feature I love is that it shreds credit cards, this is so much easier than cutting up with scissors.
WOW you can shred up to 200 sheets and you don't even have to take the staples out, how great is that.
This Fellowes shredder would be very helpful to get. I do not have anything to shred our documents.
I love this shredder, the fact that you don't have to remove the staples (always a pain to remove), can load up so many pages and it will shred plastic cards - at the moment I cut them up with scissors into very small pieces, not an easy task and time consuming too.
Thankfully I do all of these. However, I have found it difficult to move over to online billing. I like getting the paper copy in the mail. But I'm down to only 1 bill that comes printed in the mail so that's pretty good. And I finally got rid of my bankbook! That was a hard switch too! Lol
This looks like a great shredder. Love that you can just load it and walk away.
perfect that you don't have to remove the staples
I love how you can add 200 sheets of paper to the tray and it can shred on it's own
I like that you can load up to 200 pages and walk away while it is shredding and that it has a reverse for jams. It is very convenient for me.
There is a lot of useful information in this article. We must be vigilant all the time when it comes to protecting our personal information. Everyone should have a shredder like this one. I like that it can shred CDs/DVDs, credit cards, staples, paper clips and all my junk mail.
200 papers at a time sounds like a dream come true. My current shredder can barely handle 1 paper. LOL
I never knew to secure a mailbox, one of the last things I'd think about when it comes to identity theft, I can say I have switched over to paperless for some bills : )
your article reinforced the thing I knew and also was a good reminder to watch for identity fraud, because it can take years to clear it up. love that you don't need to remove staples with this shredder
I find it amazing that this shredder can cut through cds and staples! I currently just rip papers to shreds, but cross cutting documents seems much safer.
I love that it does 200 paper the one I had only did 2 at a time this would save so much time
I like that this shredder can shred 200 pages automatically. These are also great tips for protecting against identity theft.
never thought of any cd's/dvds that have info on them, thanks best to destroy them too
I love that this takes up to 200 pieces of paper. I hate standing next to my current tiny shredder that takes 3 pages MAX so it takes forever when I shred the prior year's tax returns.
thanks for the reminders, especially about KNOW YOUR MAIL CYCLE.
Two things struck me while reading:
1. remember to check you statements - wow, with e statements - do I do this every month?
2. I love that this machine has a window so you can see how full it is. My current shredder is stuck because I let it get to full and now I have to manually clean out the teeth, what a hassle.
I can’t believe this shredder actually shreds credit cards!! That’s amazing! I always cut mine into pieces but still worry about it after. I could use a shredder!
I really like that it shreds up to 200 sheets of paper into cross-cut particles, shreds CDs/DVDs, credit cards, staples, paper clips and junk mail.
I love how tough this shredder is! So many of my documents have paper clips or staples & it's perfect this one can tear right through it all! Identity theft is very scary & we all need to protect ourselves in this technological world!
Wow - it shreds credit cards? That is cool - also some more hints at keeping my identity mine they come in handy in today's society, unfortunately. I think if I don't win I will look into this brand as my own shredder as it's becoming more evident that I need one as I run my own business.
Mishelle
I didn't realize that it would take that long to get your identity back if stolen. I have not gone totally paperless yet, but I really should pay more attention to that.
Identity theft is hard to recover from and trace. I think that we have to proactively prevent this from happening. A reliable shredder is the first step. It's a growing problem and we have to do all that we can to stop it.
i feel very grateful that I've never had my identity stolen. It seems to be happening to people so often these days! Thanks for the tips. I definitely don't want it to happen to me. Thanks for the review, too 🙂
That sounds like a nightmare for you and your husband! I love that this shredder can shred so much at once and that it has a large drawer. I currently have a small shredder but it can't shred more than 5-8 pages at a time and it overheats after 2-3 minutes of use. The drawer on mine looks to be less than half the size of this one.
These are all great reminders of how important it is to protect our identity and the hassle it is to clear up when a thief takes it. I didn't about shredding old cd & dvds that we backed up our files on, thx very much for the reminder!
Your personal story really helps to wake us up to the reality of this happening. The information knowing your cycle is solid. I've been late on payments because I missed getting a statement. That is helpful all around!
Wow, I can't believe how it can take years to clear up an identity theft/fraud situation. I didn't know that.