 Why Shred
It's the Law!
There are several laws that require businesses to destroy rather than simply discarding information. These laws have been established in an effort to protect the privacy of patients and consumers while also protecting the business that serve them.
CALIFORNIA
Bill 2246 went into effect January of 2001 with the following mandate:
"A business shall take all reasonable steps to destroy or arrange for the destruction of a customer's records within its custody or control containing personal information which is no longer to be retained by the business by (1) shredding (2) erasing, or (3)..."
FEDERAL
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) identifies protected health information and sets rules for the security and privacy of this information. For additional information see http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacysummary.rtf
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB) places significant restrictions on the use of customer information by those in the financial industry such as banks, brokers and underwriters, securities and investment firms, mortgage and finance companies and not bank service finance firms to provide secure handling of records and information. Such financial institutions are required to disclose their privacy policies to their customers. For additional information see http://www.ftc.gov/privacy/glbact
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA) This Act amends the Fair Credit and reporting Act (FCRA) and containers a number of provisions intended to combat identity theft and consumer fraud. Specifically, the Act requires the destruction of papers containing consumer information. For additional information see http://www.consumerlaw.org/initiatives/facta/
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled (California vs. Greenwood) that "dumpster diving" is not illegal. Dumpster diving is the predominate method of obtaining information by those involved in crimes related to identity theft, fraud, espionage and computer hacking.
Additional Resources
www.hipaa.com
www.erisa.com
www.sarbanes-oxley-forum.com
What to Shred
| Personal Information |
Files and Records |
Client Lists/Files |
Telephone numbers
Drivers license numbers
Passport number
Education materials
Credit card numbers
Bank account information
Address
Social security numbers
Insurance policy data
Employment information
Brokerage account information
Legal documents
Financial statements
Travel itineraries |
Organization charts
Personnel files
Payroll records
Audits
Market research
Bank statements
Tax records
Contracts
X-rays
Fax machine ribbons
Accounting data
CD's and DVD's
Resumes
Medical records
Litigation/court records |
Receipts/inventory
Price/inventory lists
Proposals and quotes
Canceled checks
Business plans
Photographs
Presentations
R&D files and data
Computer reports
Credit card numbers
New product info
Exec. correspondence
Obsolete brochures
Obsolete stationary |
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