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Anecdotally, you probably suspect identity theft is on the rise from the numbers of stories you hear. It is likely most of us know someone who has been affected, even if we haven’t personally.
Unfortunately the official figures also back that up. The Office for National Statistics show that from June 2014 to July 2015 there were almost 600,000 fraud offences took place. The body Cifas reported that in the first three months of last year alone, identity theft figures were up a worrying third on the same period the year before.
Identity theft costs the economy billions every year, and that is why the Data Protection Act is in place to ensure businesses of all sizes take proper care of the data they possess – or risk huge fines. Small businesses need to comply just the same as multinationals. All companies should have a confidential waste management strategy in place – and make sure that everyone understands and follows it.
The obligation is on businesses to shred not only financial or other ‘personal’ information, but anything which has any form of customer or employee details within it. This can include emails, CVs, customer records – the list is endless. Bear in mind recycling, or ripping up the paper before binning it, is not enough – it must be shredded in order to ensure the data is completely disposed of.
The same rules apply whether this information is in hard or soft copy – so even if the data is just saved electronically, bear in mind hard drives, memory sticks and back-ups must also be safely destroyed. Wiping the data alone may not be enough.
Also bear in mind the Data Protection Act covers the whole process of disposal, including how you store information before its destruction. The waste should be kept in a lockable, secure unit until it is shredded.
So if you are looking to choose a company to help with your confidential waste disposal, what should you bear in mind? Here’s some tops tips from McCarthy’s Safe Shred.
McCartheys were there to take much of the stress out of what was a very difficult time for myself and my family.All the staff were patient and understanding of our dilemma and did all they could to help.
The storage facilities were safe and very secure with easy access .
All in all a painless experience.
Would highly recommend.
Really friendly and helpful customer service and explained everything clearly. Easy to reserve and new facility in York seems well secured and easy to access, with handy equipment to use (particularly with extended hours - at additional cost). Only minor comment for improvement during these times would be to have sanitise stations near the keypads as these are touch points for everyone using the facility.
Really good service and nice units. Easy access, great location, nothing to fault
The Storage Centre, Meanwood Road,
Leeds LS7 2AH
Removals:
0113 262 3000 /
0113 262 4000
Email Leeds removals
Storage: 0113 26 26 500
Email Leeds storage
Opening Hours:
Monday-Friday: 08.00 to 17.30
Saturday: 09.00 to 16.00
Bank Holidays: 10.00 to 14.00
The Storage Centre,
Ripon Road,
Harrogate HG1 2BS
Removals & Storage:
01423 625 000
Van Hire: 01423 625 000
Email Harrogate
Opening Hours:
Monday-Friday: 08.00 to 17.30
Saturday: 09.00 to 16.00
The Storage Centre, Kirkgate,
Wakefield WF1 1UW
Removals, Storage & Shredding:
01924 663 555
Email Wakefield
Opening Hours:
Monday-Friday: 08.00 to 17.30
Saturday: 09.00 to 16.00
McCarthy's Storage World
Phoenix Retail Park
Leeds Road
Huddersfield
West Yorkshire
HD1 6NE
Removals & Storage
01484 799 599
Email Huddersfield
Opening Hours:
Monday-Friday: 08.00 to 17.30
Saturday: 09.00 to 16.00
Bank Holidays: 10.00 to 15.00
McCarthy's Storage World
Water lane
York
YO30 6PQ
Removals & Storage:
01904 238 333
Van Hire: 01904 238 333
Email York
Opening Hours:
Monday-Friday: 08.00 to 17.30
Saturday: 09.00 to 16.00
Sunday: 09:00 to 14:00