December is Identity Theft Awareness & Prevention Month

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Identity Theft Trivia

Who comes to mind when you hear of a vile, conniving, and despicable thief who would steal Christmas right out from under your nose—other than your Uncle Skinflint, that is? Why the Grinch, of course! I wonder if in this day and age Mr. Grinch might be crouched over his computer, trying to steal Cindy Lou Who’s identity instead of her Christmas tree.

Ironically, a contributor to the classic film, How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, unintentionally had his identity stolen from him. Many people assume the voice of the song, You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch was sung by the narrator, Boris Karloff, but it was actually sung by Thurl Ravenscroft, the voice of Tony the Tiger. Unfortunately, he was not credited, but Dr. Seuss later apologized and issued a notice of correction.

Defeat the Deadbeat

Unfortunately, the real world has much more vile, conniving, and despicable thieves preying on unsuspecting victims. But you don’t have to be unsuspecting or a victim if you are proactively implementing preventative measures. Here are our suggestions to help you defeat the deadbeat crooks:

Never give out personal or financial information over the phone or by email.
Beware of phishing scams and pop-up messages online.
Use strong passwords with at least eight characters that include a combination of numbers, letters, and symbols.
Use a complete anti-virus, malware, and spyware application on all devices that connect to the internet.
Avoid using software downloaded from unknown websites. “Free” often isn’t free at all and could cost you dearly in the end.
Shred credit card receipts and statements, junk mail, ATM receipts, expired legal documents, travel itineraries, utility bills, and any document that has any personally identifiable information (PII) on it. Don’t leave documents in the blue recycling bin for unauthorized people to see or take.
Never offer personal information about yourself or others—like birthdate, birthplace, and names—on social networking websites. Even with privacy settings in place, it’s often easy for identity thieves to find your information.

We’re Here to Help

Fighting identity theft doesn’t have to be done alone. Pacific Shredding can shred your discarded or outdated documents so they are impossible to read or reassemble. We’re NAID AAA Certified, so you can be confident that your information is completely and properly destroyed. We can also shred your discarded electronic devices and hard drives so that no information can be retrieved for criminal activity. We’re here to help people of Stockton, Sacramento, Modesto, Fresno and Napa and Solano counties, and would love help you, too. Just give us a call at 800-685-9034 or complete the form on this page to talk with a friendly Pacific Shredding team member.