News - Automated Shredding

Shred Hard Drives & Media to Permanently Destroy Data and Protect Your Identity

Posted on March 19, 2012 by admin

Identity theft has become the fastest growing crime in the U. S. Over 9.9 million people – roughly 7 percent of the country’s population – are victims of identity theft every year. One of the targets for identity theft is confidential information stored on personal and business computer hard drives, copy machine hard drives and other media devices.

According to the Department of Justice, businesses lost a total of $47.6 billion in 2010 to identity theft.

When businesses upgrade their computers, they most often remove the hard drives from the old computers and use programs to wipe out the data before sending the hard drives to be recycled. However, these programs don’t always completely erase all the data and with other available software, this information can be easily restored – including confidential information and personal data. This leaves companies and employees easy targets for identity theft.

Hard drive destruction is the only way to ensure your data has been erased. Hard drive destruction means physically shredding it into minute particles and properly disposing of the pieces.

At Charlotte, NC – based Automated Shredding, the number of customers requesting hard drive destruction services has gone up substantially over the last few years. As identity theft continues to be a problem and gain attention, people are much more aware of the importance of taking precautions to protect their information and prevent it from getting into the hands of the wrong person.

Look for a shredding company that offers hard drive destruction with machines specifically designed to shred hard drives, back-up tapes, discs, cell phones and other media devices to ensure information from the equipment can not be retrieved. The small effort to properly destroy your data-holding devices offers you not only piece of mind, but could protect you from tremendous loss.

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North Carolina ranks 25th in identity-theft complaints

Posted on March 7, 2012 by admin

Source: Charlotte Business Journal by Patrick O’Grady, Reporter

North Carolina ranks No. 25 in the U.S. for identity-theft complaints, according to the recently released Consumer Sentinel Network report, distributed annually by the Federal Trade Commission as a measure of complaints the agency sees each year.

The Tar Heel State had 6,287 complaints, or about 66 complaints per 100,000 residents, in 2011.

North Carolina had ranked No. 24 in 2010. But the state had fewer complaints in 2010, with the number totaling 5,986, or 63 per 100,000 residents.

Theft of government documents or benefits fraud accounted for 21 percent of the identity-theft complaints in North Carolina last year. That was the state’s largest category. Employment-related fraud made up 7 percent of the reports.

National figures showed 24 percent of identity thefts reported were for employment, but only 3 percent were for government documents.

Instances of identity theft were higher in the Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord statistical area than elsewhere in the state. The metro area had 1,558 total identity-theft reports in 2011, about 94 complaints per 100,000 residents. In 2010, the area had 1,459 total complaints, or 88 per 100,000 residents.

The identity-theft rate was higher in neighboring South Carolina, where reports in 2011 totaled 3,168. The Palmetto State ranked No. 20 in the study, with 69 complaints per 100,000 residents. That’s up from 2,726 total complaints, or 59 per 100,000 residents, in 2010, when South Carolina ranked No. 29.

The number of identity-theft crimes reported has increased nationwide, according to the report. In 2011, 1.8 million complaints were filed with the FTC, of which 279,156 were for identity theft, 990,242 were for fraud and 543,682 were for other crimes.

In 2010, the number of complaints received by the FTC totaled 1.46 million, of which 251,105 involved identity theft, 815,054 were for fraud and 394,209 were defined as “other.”

The FTC had seen a leveling off of complaints between 2004 and 2006, but the economic collapse produced a surge in consumer complaints and doubled the number reported in 2011 compared with the 2006 total.

Todd Davis, chief executive of LifeLock Inc., says the economy was a driving factor in the rising number of complaints. Tempe, Ariz.-based LifeLock specializes in identity-theft protection.

“We’re seeing it go up because there are numerous groups that have become disenfranchised,” Davis says.

Identity theft remains the single largest complaint, making up 15 percent of the total received by the FTC. Debt-collection issues make up 10 percent of the claims, and fraudulent sweepstakes make up 6 percent.

Florida remains the top state for identity-theft reports, followed by Georgia and California.

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Save 50% With Drive-Up Shredding

Posted on May 18, 2011 by admin

This Price is 50% off what we charge to come to your business or residence and shred!

Call our office today and schedule an appointment to bring your documents to us. We will quickly shred them for you at a 50% reduced cost. This is the same shredding process we offer with our on-site service, and you are still guaranteed the security you have come to expect from Automated Shredding.

You will witness the destruction on our color monitor and receive a certificate of destruction to confirm your documents have been safely and securely destroyed.

The only difference is you bring your documents to us!

What are you waiting for?

You need your documents shredded, and now we are offering a 50% savings.

Give us a call at 704.542.4514 today!

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Greater Charlotte Biz Magazine Feature

Posted on February 18, 2011 by admin

Mission Critical

Automated Shredding Assures Secure Destruction of Sensitive Data

Today the protection of confidential business and client data is mission critical. All businesses discard confidential data. Customer lists, price lists, sales statistics, drafts of bids and correspondence, and even memos contain information about business activity which would interest any competitor. Every business is also entrusted with personal and credit information that must be kept private. Employees and customers have the legal right to have this data protected.

Without the proper safeguards, sensitive documents end up in the dumpster where the information is readily, and legally, available to anybody. The trash is considered by business espionage professionals as the single most available source of competitive and private information from the average business, as well as a significant source of individuals’ personal information.

Any establishment that discards private and proprietary data without the benefit of destruction, exposes itself to the risk of criminal and civil prosecution, as well as the costly loss of business.

Download PDF of entire article

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Why Shred Your Sensitive Information?

Posted on December 18, 2010 by admin

Automated Shredding can help you ensure your own protection against identity theft and to protect the integrity and liability of your business

Legal Compliance

Health Insurance Portability and Accessibility Act (HIPAA) – puts very strict guidelines on the healthcare industry, assuring that healthcare organizations be responsible for the secure disposal of patient information. Automated Shredding provides HIPAA compliant destruction of medical records, patient documents, etc.

Security

Automated Shredding provides locked, security bins and on-site destruction to ensure that your sensitive paperwork never ends up in the wrong hands. All Automated Shredding employees follow strict policies and procedures to ensure the safe disposal of your documents.

Convenience

With Automated Shredding, you’re in control. Schedule destruction to meet the demands of your facility. We arrive promptly and work quickly, with a minimum of distraction. Schedule it and we’ll take care of the rest.

Certification

Automated Shredding is AAA certified by NAID and all employees undergo background checks, drug testing and training in security policies and procedures.

Economical

For just dollars a month, Automated Shredding handles secure document destruction and recycling of the shredded materials. We value your time and security as much as you do, and we think that’s priceless. Every day printed, confidential information is produced and passed on to businesses and virtual strangers that have your most personal information. Identity theft continues to rise every year while governments and regulators around the globe constantly introduce legislation to help protect businesses and individuals. But while rules and regulations are helping to ensure you and your company’s protection, there is something that you must do: properly dispose of your documents by shredding.

Too many times personal identifiable information (PII), credit card statements, employment applications, medical records, etc. are not properly destroyed and can leave you readily exposed to identify theft. For businesses, you have even a greater responsibility in properly discarding your client and employees’ information in protecting them as well as your own business’s liability.

The trash is considered to be one of the most available sources of private and competitive information to other individuals as well as businesses. Shredding and destroying information on paper used to be considered a best practice. Now it’s the law. These laws include the

Health Insurance Portability and Accessibility Act (HIPAA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), and The Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA). For more information on these laws, visit our Shredding Laws page.