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View Full Version : Identity Theft - How Do You Protect Yourself?



Green_not_greed
23-Jan-08, 21:37
With identity theft apperently rife in the south, do any Caithnesians take precautions when disposing of letters etc containing personal details?

If so, how do you do it?

Fire?
Shred?
Recycle?
Bin?
Dont care - anyone can read my stuff?

unicorn
23-Jan-08, 21:40
well if it turns out most people in Caithness dont destroy their mail then I don't think the internet is the best place to publish that info :eek: sheesh bin rakers to contend with in their thousands after reading that :lol:

TBH
23-Jan-08, 21:42
With identity theft apperently rife in the south, do any Caithnesians take precautions when disposing of letters etc containing personal details?

If so, how do you do it?

Fire?
Shred?
Recycle?
Bin?
Dont care - anyone can read my stuff?I think there is a guide in the testing ground sub-forum on how to set up a poll. To answer your question we shred our documents and other waste paper and convert them into logs for the fire. What we don't use gets recycled.

Green_not_greed
23-Jan-08, 21:44
I think there is a guide in the testing ground sub-forum on how to set up a poll.

I found it, thanks. My first one.


To answer your question we shred our documents and convert them into logs for the fire.

Nice one!

Tony
23-Jan-08, 21:49
Debit cards should have the same protection as credit cards. Fraud is easier now as not the same lavel of controls in place when entering a pin number.

SandTiger
23-Jan-08, 21:53
Hands up who shreds their sensitive documents and then happily gives over correct details to social networking sites such as ones date of birth which is then openly displayed on FaceBook or other non-important information gathering sites that use your private information that you have just divulged?

northener
23-Jan-08, 21:59
Hands up who shreds their sensitive documents and then happily gives over correct details to social networking sites such as ones date of birth which is then openly displayed on FaceBook or other non-important information gathering sites that use your private information that you have just divulged?

I always lie about my age on sites like this! I never give out correct personal details either, unless its onto a bank website etc. At present I have around 8 different dates of birth.......

I try to shred all the iffy stuff or chuck it onto the fire.

Julia
23-Jan-08, 22:34
I shred anything with personal information, everything else including the shredded paper goes in the blue box.

SandTiger
23-Jan-08, 22:35
I always lie about my age on sites like this! I never give out correct personal details either, unless its onto a bank website etc. At present I have around 8 different dates of birth.......


How do you remember them all? :lol:

stiggy
23-Jan-08, 22:42
I burn any papers that include mine or any of the families names and addresses to stop anybody getting them.

Highland Laddie
23-Jan-08, 22:49
With identity theft apperently rife in the south, do any Caithnesians take precautions when disposing of letters etc containing personal details?

If so, how do you do it?

Fire?
Shred?
Recycle?
Bin?
Dont care - anyone can read my stuff?


Not just in the South, I had my current account emptied about 6 months ago; luckily it was near the end of the month, so there was only about 400 pounds in the account.
I do 99% of my banking online, so I first noticed a bus ticket purchased down in Colchester, that I think was just a tester to see if they could get away with it, I went into my local bank and told them what had happened, they reckoned it was just a mistake.
I asked to get my account cancelled, but they said it was just an error, 2 days later 350 pounds was debited from my account to an American online poker site. I went back to the bank the next day, they cancelled the account, then I was told because it was a debit account, I may not get my money back.
My eldest son works for a well known bank in Edinburgh, he told me to go back to the bank and ask them for a form for the ombudsman, they then said my money would probably be paid back, seems if the ombudsman has to investigate a customer complaint for loss of money from an account, it cost the bank quite a few quit.

My money was paid back 3 days later.

Riffman
24-Jan-08, 14:57
I shred with a crosscut shreder. This mushes it up so much that reconstruction would be a challenge.

garrioch
24-Jan-08, 15:02
i shread everything is quite fun and a stress reliver shredding that bill into oblivion:D

Thumper
24-Jan-08, 17:06
I shred then put it in the hamsters cage :eek: ......theres no way they would leave it in a state that could be read [lol] x

Cinderella's Shoe
24-Jan-08, 23:05
I shred it, use it for animal bedding, then compost the lot!

Yoda the flump
24-Jan-08, 23:29
I burn absolutely everything with a name, address or any other identifying info on it.

Try and use it then.

Whitewater
25-Jan-08, 00:05
I always lie about my age on sites like this! I never give out correct personal details either, unless its onto a bank website etc. At present I have around 8 different dates of birth.......

Reincarnation??

anneoctober
25-Jan-08, 00:12
I shred then put it in the hamsters cage ......theres no way they would leave it in a state that could be read x
Liking your style Thumper ! ;) Errr, I did n't know that rabbits could keep hamsters..........[lol]

TBH
25-Jan-08, 00:12
I shred then put it in the hamsters cage :eek: ......theres no way they would leave it in a state that could be read xA rabbit that keeps hamsters incarcerated, you should be ashamed.[lol]

Thumper
25-Jan-08, 11:32
I know I should be ashamed of myself ;) but its the baby bunnies who wanted the hamsters :) x

gillian17
27-Jan-08, 15:50
A woman was on FiveLive this morning, I cannot remember or did not catch her name. She has actively campaigned against Identity Cards and voted against them every time believing them to be unsafe. She now has a position in government, not front bench, but somewhere in the Home Office, and would you believe it, they are now the best thing since sliced bread.
It used to cost thirty pieces of silver but apparently its just a promotion now.

badger
27-Jan-08, 21:20
I would burn mine if I had a fire so I shred using a cheap manual shredder which is quite hard work and tends to jam but it does the job. Actually I only shred the bits with my details so don't always need to do the whole thing. However - there is one problem if you live in the country. Recycled paper has to go in one of those large bins and you can't put it in plastic bags so I'm afraid mine goes in the bin as there's no way you could stuff all that into a bin. Can you imagine, especially when it's windy? Does anyone have an answer to this? Suppose I could put more in the compost.

twiglet
28-Jan-08, 20:57
We shred anything with names, addresses or personal information. Have seen bins being rifled through and also had an employee down south who had stolen someones national insurance number and then someone tried to steal her stolen id.

Tilter
01-Feb-08, 01:01
Not bovvered. I've already nicked someone else's identity.

Ricco
02-Feb-08, 19:06
For years now we have shredded all papers that contain any details, once they are no longer needed. Things like receipts and such we burn. I always go through all mail and tear off the name and address that are pre-printed on forms (check inside as well) and also burn them. All other paper, mags, cardboard, etc gets recycled.

j4bberw0ck
02-Feb-08, 20:25
I tear all and any personal detail off junk mail and shred it. The rest goes in the bin.

Sometimes, for idle amusement, I remove all the detail and shred as normal. Then I refold the letters, flyers, and leaflets. Then when Capital One (whom I particularly hate with a passion - I've seen the wreckage their credit-granting leaves behind) send me a mailing asking what I have in my wallet and offering me one of their poxy credit cards, I put all their stuff plus all the stuff I've saved up in their reply-paid envelope and tape it shut. Then post it.

I get some (probably very sad) satisfaction knowing that their mailroom has a machine which'll kick out my envelope as too thick to go on for automatic processing. So someone'll then have to open it by hand. Meantime they'll have paid not only the licence fee for the return mail, but also excess mail charges because my envelope was heavier than the amount they'd agreed. All that takes manual processing and costs them money.

If we all did it, they might think again about mailing people.... Sad, I know. But it pleases me sometimes.

unicorn
02-Feb-08, 21:16
I like that idea jabberwock :lol:

Green_not_greed
02-Feb-08, 21:38
I like that idea jabberwock :lol:

And so do I - it has a sense of justice about it.......

GNG