Things to consider before buying a Heavy Duty Paper Shredder

With identity theft being the fastest growing crime in both the USA and many European countries, it has become an unfortunate reality that we need to invest in document shredders in order to protect others and ourselves against this very real menace.

Estimates from the UK Government puts the cost of identity theft at over a billion UK pounds per year and is said to account for 10% of all fraud committed over the same twelve month period. In the USA, some 39% of all fraud complaints are identity theft related.

As a direct result of this type of crime, untold damage is being done to the credit ratings of both companies and individuals. What is more, once the damage has been done, it can take many months to recover.

What compounds the problem is that in many cases, the information gained by the thief was acquired with very little effort. Despite the many warnings from various sources, many people and businesses still discard documents in the waste bin without first destroying them, thus leaving themselves vulnerable to identity theft.

As a direct result, companies and businesses, both large and small, are being forced to invest in equipment to destroy documents. However, with the different types of document shredders available, it can be a difficult decision to choose which ones are best for your office or business.

Before investing in a heavy-duty paper shredder for a business, you need to weigh the costs against your actual requirements. For instance, you should take stock of the form that your documents are stored. Are your records on papers, computer disks or CD’s? If your office stores things in a variety of ways then a heavy-duty paper shredder may be what you need.

Many of the heavy-duty paper shredders on the market are also capable of destroying computer disks, CD’s as well as large amounts of documents. With the campaign of many offices to go paperless, this function is becoming increasingly necessary. A heavy-duty paper shredder with all of these functions can range in price from ten to twenty thousand dollars but it could cost you a lot more when you take into account the risks.

With the advent of computers, it was touted that we would become a paperless society but it would seem that we generate even more copy than we ever did in the past. Many offices still keep documents on paper and rely on photocopies as back ups.

If your office destroys several hundred sheets per day then a heavy duty paper shredder will likely be the better investment with some of the models able to destroy up to eighty sheets in one pass. The resulting debris can be stored in the collection bin within the machine and then emptied when full.

When considering what type of shredder to purchase, you must consider your needs both now and in the immediate future. If you have several different items to destroy such as CD’s, computer disks as well as documents a heavy-duty shredder may be the best investment for you.

A large cost now could save you millions in the long term, especially when you are dealing with others peoples personal data.