Choosing a Paper Shredding Company
Identity theft is one of the nation's fastest-growing, most expensive criminal enterprises. From Identity Theft, Texas Attorney General.
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When it comes to protecting your business, the single most important decision you can make is selecting the right document destruction company to destroy your sensitive material.
So what do you look for when shopping around for a document destruction or data destruction company? Make sure they have ALL of the following at a very minimum.
Is the company NAID certified?
NAID stands for National Association of Information Destruction. It is the one and only governing body of the paper shredding industry. Certification is voluntary and not required by any member.
NAID AAA certification establishes a basic business service delivered in the marketplace. All clients can feel confident that the standards are being met on a regular basis. Random inspections by a third party are conducted. Any legitimate company should be NAID certified.
American Shredding is NAID certified.
Is the company insured?
A document destruction company should be backed by some insurance policy. The amount of insurance will vary greatly from company to company. Would you rather entrust a company that has $2 million in insurance coverage or a company that has $27 million in insurance coverage?
A security breach will cost one million dollars to notify all clients that a breach has occurred and to provide the required credit monitoring service in the upcoming year.
American Shredding is backed by $27 million in insurance coverage.
Is shred size important to you?
NAID AAA Certification does not have stringent requirements on shred size. Inquire about the shred size that NAID considers appropriate vs. the shred size that your company considers appropriate. Laws do not specify a shred size requirement and most document destruction companies will not volunteer such information.
Why leave it to chance that your documents are being shredded to an acceptable size that leaves your sensitive information exposed? Always be sure to inquire about shred size and whether or not the company can shred to a size you feel is safe and secure.
American Shredding offers shred sizes that meet your standard of acceptability.
What happens after your material is shredded?
What happens to your shredded material? Most industrial shredding machines used by shredding companies leave ten to fifteen percent of the material vulnerable to misuse. Ask what happens to your material after its shredded.
If the material is being taken to a third party recycling center, then be alarmed.
The material is being dumped on the ground outside that can be blown in the wind or compromised by employees at the recycling centers who do not care about the security of the data. Select a shredding company that has a warehouse where the trucks can unload inside a secure facility and the material is being baled and shipped by the shredding company, not an unsecure, third party.
American Shredding bales and sends all material direct to the papermill.
How many years of experience does the company have?
Would you rather entrust a company that has over 100 years of industry experience and a perfect security track record or a new company with little experience? It is always good to know who you are trusting with your most sensitive information; ask about years of experience and ask about a company’s security track record.
The document destruction industry is comprised of many small businesses that come and go on yearly basis. Only use a shredding company that has been in business for five years or more.
American Shredding has over 100 years of combined industry experience.
How much should you pay?
A proper price quote will be based on number of boxes, by the pound, or a flat rate. Never sign up for a service that charges by the minute. Shredding by the minute promotes slow service and using old equipment that shreds slowly and is loaded manually.
Lastly, you will not know how much you are going to pay until the job is complete. Would you rather know how much you are paying before or after the service? Typically, a regular service start at $30 per service while a one-time purge will cost $60 or more.
American Shredding bases pricing on the number of boxes or a flat rate.
Local or national?
National companies operate on a more bureaucratic level and have higher overhead costs. When you call a destruction company would you rather speak directly to a local service representative or a machine switchboard operator? Choosing a local company means lower price due to less overhead costs and more personalized service.
American Shredding is a local company offering highly personalized service in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Dallas, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Francisco Bay area, and Reno..
Conduct your own due diligence
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Red Flag Rules require due diligence be preform on all service providers you choose. Take the time to kick the tires and take a facility tour of the shredding service provider. It’s harder to cover up issues in the physical world. It’s easy to fall prey to a slick sales person. Investing one hour of your time could keep your company from being exposed to a five million dollar lawsuit stemming from a data breach.
