As Part of the Lionheart Assurance Scam Prevention Toolkit™
Whether you are a large business that handles millions of items of personally identifying information or you are only filing bills and tax returns at home, a shredder has become a necessary staple for every office or home office complex.
The shredder is not what it used to be. A Department of Defense recommended shredder would be the cross cut device which cuts paper in 2 inch shreds or smaller. Micro shredders cut paper into very small bits and are used to protect businesses from dumpster diving and losing insider proprietary information.
In only a few years we have seen a huge increase in the purchase of shredders, so which documents should I shred? Shred anything that has your personal identifying information on it, don't give rip-off's a chance.
Here are some suggestions for destroying personal documents:
~ A good rule of thumb is to keep all tax returns and supporting documentation for seven years. Do not keep old documents longer than you need to, make sure that you shred your old tax returns, including all of the receipts, W-2 copies, 1099 statements, contribution records and all supporting documentation.
~ Keep credit card statements for seven years if the related expenses are being documented for tax purposes.
~ Keep paycheck stubs for only one year, nobody is interested in individual stubs older than that.
~ Keep all of your bank statements as well as your cancelled checks and check images for at least one year.
~ Normal bills and utility statements should be kept for one year or at least until the cancelled check or check image has been returned to you for safekeeping.
~ Receipts for large ticket items should be kept for insurance purposes.
Keep a separate file for these so that you can prove value in case of theft. Along those same lines, it is highly recommended that you record a video of your home and possessions as a backup file for additional proof of ownership should the unexpected happen.
~ Home improvement receipts should be kept for six years or permanently, depending on your length of occupancy. After you have completed the tax return following your evacuation of improved home, they will no longer be needed except the appropriate tax records.
~ Items such as birth certificates, social security cards, insurance policies, titles or wills should be kept permanently in a safety deposit box at your local bank branch office.
Lionheart Assurance Solutions, LP reminds its clients, shred all sensitive information to stay protected. Visit www.LionheartAssuranceSolutions.com today for more information.