Last year 13.1 million adults in the U.S. were victims of identity fraud. Nearly 70% of the problems occurred offline. The reason? A lack of proper information disposal, along with inadequate document shredding programs within businesses and organizations.
The Disposal Rule, established in 2005 as part of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), is an important piece of legislation designed to protect consumers. It applies to large and small organizations that obtain information from consumers for a variety of reasons, from determining eligibility for employment to reviewing credit history.
The Disposal Rule states that any person who maintains or otherwise possesses consumer information for a business purpose is required to properly dispose of the information in electronic and paper form. The Rule also states that you have to take reasonable measures to protect against unauthorized access to, or use of, the information in connection with its disposal. If you ignore or don't fully comply with the law, you're exposing yourself and your company to serious risks.
Examples of records that need to be properly, safely destructed include:
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Customer Lists
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Accounting Information
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| Credit Card Information |
Employee/Personnel Records |
| Medical Records |
Payroll Information |
| Signatures |
Customers' Mailing Lists |
| Budget Data |
Financial Reports |
| Invoices |
Cancelled Checks |
| Legal Contracts |
Tax Records |
| Applications for Employment |
Social Security Information |
| Correspondence |
Bank Statements |
| Confidential Letters/Memos |
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