These days, it feels like personal information is swimming around everywhere. My mail and other physical documents pile high with sensitive details, from my social security number to my emergency contact’s home address. Meanwhile, issues of cybersecurity abound.
I’m frequently mailed notices that my online accounts have been involved in web leaks, and tales of cyberattacks on schools and scammers defrauding targets of thousands of dollars circulate on newsfeeds and in media. (That’s not even to mention the avalanche of spam texts and calls I regularly receive.) Within my own bubble, I’d try to cut or rip up my private documents, but they continued to pour in faster than I could keep up with, and I got overwhelmed.
That was a few years ago. I took matters into my own hands and turned to a tried-and-true solution: a home paper shredder. At just over $30, my Amazon Basics shredder has been one of the best practical purchases I’ve probably ever made.
My overwhelm and horror at my volumes of sensitive physical documents — and my urge to shred them — is valid, according to Greta Geiselman , senior director of global workplace and security at BuzzFeed Inc. Shredding private materials helps “secur[e] personal data to ensure it doesn’t end up in the wrong hands,” Geiselman explained, noting that our papers can expose credit card numbers, tax information, social security numbers, phone numbers, addresses and more. “In my personal life, I shred most all of my docum.