Just because I am Paranoid doesn't mean that they are not out to get me.

I have not seen this topic broached previously, so I thought I would bring it up. As a favor for all those who have me on their ignore list, I hope that the rest of the members will please feel free to quote me in your replies. :girl_hug:

The Topic is Shredding.

Everyday I get mail. Most of it is either bills, statements (credit card, bank accounts, etc.), renewals for insurance (car, life, medical, etc.) or sometimes magazines. A lot of the other mail is catalogs, offers, and junk.

Many of us own shredders. Many of us shred statements and renewals.

I shred everything with my name, address, phone number or account number on it. Many times the envelope is the kind with the glassine window where the address shows through, but sometimes the post office puts a bar-code under the window. It the envelope has a bar-code, it goes through the shredder.

If there is a label on the magazine, the page or at least the part of the page with the address label goes through the shredder.

Many people own shredders that cut the paper into long diagonal strips. For less than $10 more, I bought a shredder that cuts diagonally twice, so that the result is confetti.

Am I paranoid? Maybe! But it is a precaution worth taking IMHO.

Oh!! I forgot to mention my favorite shredding material. Convenience Checks drawn against my credit card account.

Oh!! I forgot to mention my favorite shredding material. Convenience Checks drawn against my credit card account.

I shred these, too, as well as credit card statements. The rest I throw in the trash, from whence they are retrieved by my anal retentive spouse, who, like you, shreds EVERYTHING.

My daughter was the victim of identity theft, so I know that it is no joke. It wasn't her trash or mail that was stolen, however...it was a cancelled check, left on her kitchen counter, for some reason. The thieves turned out to be a ring of about 30. They use the routing and account numbers to make new computeried checks, using a name that matches an ID with their picture on it. It is a real nightmare if this happens to you. The bank suspects you, the police question you, the credit bureaus black list you, and it takes many, many months to get it cleared up.

A friend of mine was a victim of identity theft. But rather than using her name and social security number to get credit or pilfer her bank account, the imposter used her name when arrested on multiple occasions for violent crimes. My friend was able to convince the Connecticut police that it wasn't her by supplying her fingerprints, and was able to get a document from them saying the person with the convictions and warrants was not her. But Connecticut police could not erase her name as one of the aliases used by the criminal and warned her that if she was ever pulled over in Connecticut, then when the officer ran her driver's license through the system, the policeman would have no choice but to treat her like the criminal, put her in handcuffs, and possibly bring her to the station.

My friend now avoids Connecticut.

If you get junk mail with your name on it, don't shred it up.

Package tape it to the top of a brick, so that the surface of the envelope shows up clearly. Tape around the sides, and covering the brick up. Then take it to the post office for "return to sender". Just tell them you do not want to accept the mail. They will return it to sender at the sender's expense. Trust me, a place will only pay the charges to return a brick to sender once before they don't plaster your mailbox with their crap any longer.

I thought there was a one pound rule about letters to stop bombs being sent through the mail. :faint:

Perhaps, I haven't had to do this in about 2 years. The most they ever said was, "Woah, that's a heavy one!" and then told me to have a nice day. I assumed they were talking about the letter. :girl_hug:

I just smile and throw all that junk mail away!! They are the reason postal rates are still so low!:clap2:

TOM - I swear.. EVERYTIME I read your post I feel like I know you. Are you sure you arent from Lake Charles and have a daughter named Paula?

you remind me so much of my dad. :girl_hug:

I send all of my junk back to the company that sent it to me if they provide a postage paid return envelope. When I mail in my utility bills I include all the advertisement crap that comes with them, same with credit card bills. I save all of my statements for 2 years and then shred them after they are 24 months old. I also shred utility bills, and pre-approved credit card offers when they come in. ~Mandy

TOM - I swear.. EVERYTIME I read your post I feel like I know you. Are you sure you arent from Lake Charles and have a daughter named Paula?

you remind me so much of my dad. :girl_hug:

That's the nicest thing anyone has said to me in quite a while.

Thank You. :clap2:

We shred plenty of stuff, but not usually junk mail outs. however, we keep these to a minimum by registering on "Do Not Mail" and "Do Not Call" registers that are held by the Gov't and Australian Direct Marketing Association. After about 6 weeks, the amount of junk mail and calls drops dramatically.

I also gnerally never enter any competitions , and NEVER if they don't have an opt-out box for mail outs & calls. I always check the box if they do (after reading carefully to make sure if it is an opt-out or an opt-in clause - they trick you sometimes!).

And I get great satisfaction from hanging up the phone in the face of overseas telemarketers, espcially when they haven't said more than one or two words. It's a dead give away when the caller can't pronounce your surname. hee hee hee. But I've nearly hung up on family a few times... doh!

We don't use credit cards, generally, but will if it's a "save X percent if you sign up for the card today" deal, and we're buying something significant enough to benefit from the discount, I'll do it. Then I'll pay off the entire amount before I leave the store. Once I wrote the check for the wrong amount, 7 cents less than it should have been. And I received a credit card bill for 7 cents. And I hae to laugh, because when you consider the end-to-end mailing/distribution process, it probably cost them at least a buck or two to bill me for 7 cents.

Once I wrote the check for the wrong amount, 7 cents less than it should have been. And I received a credit card bill for 7 cents. And I hae to laugh, because when you consider the end-to-end mailing/distribution process, it probably cost them at least a buck or two to bill me for 7 cents.

That happened to me, too. I called AM EX and asked if I really had to write them a check for 15 cents. They said "yes"...so I taped a dime and a nickel onto the statement and sent it to them. I know, from having worked at Master Card many years ago (yes, children...once upon a time there was just ONE Master Card) that they really hate getting cash. They can't process it with the automated equipment. I really wasn't trying to give them a hard time, though. I just didn't want to write a check for 15 cents.

"That amounts to about 30# of wasted resources, wasted Postal Employee time, wasted fuel on delivering something that produces a single digit response. And then to accept the pretense I'm saving "30-40-50%" on whatever junk they are promoting,"

yep! Thats the capitalist area of the world we live in. Good thing we have such a successful recycling program in our area!!!!

Rather recycle than be a citizen in ANY 3rd world area. I give thanks everyday!!

Sorry Jack- didn't intend to upset you!

I too shred everything with any account #'s or my name or address etc. I send back the prepaid envelopes to credit card companies, magazine offers, etc. I figure they can pay the return postage.

When my shredder bag gets full, I take it to the local animal shelter, they like to use the shredded paper in their cages. Mine cross cuts the papers, so it is near a confetti state. I figure, if it is shredded, and been used as cage liner, not even most thieves would wanna try to dig through that!!!

Kat

I called my credit card CO. to have them STOP sending me convenience checks. It took 6 months but they stopped. I shred all the same as you except not magazine addresses. Never thought of that one. They can get my name and address from the phone book. Do I need to shred magazine addresses too?

We are executors for my nephew and nieces (small) financial inheritance and bank accounts. They are 15 & 16 and we get credit card offers and convenience checks for them all the time. They don't work and can't even balance their check books. Ghezzzzzzz! We asked the bank to stop that too but they still keep coming!