One of the great concerns people have when considering a shredding service provider is having to trust them with how they handle your documents. When you hand off your documents and leave, you are no longer there to see what happens, anything could happen and you’d have no idea. Did the integrity of the staff ensure nothing suspicious happened between handoff and shredding? Did shredding even happen? These are very valid concerns when it’s your secure information at stake.

Mobile shredding service is the answer for those who are rightly hesitant about handing off information and walking away. It’s a bold claim to say it’s the most secure service, and we’re going to prove that today. It all comes down to several factors: uniformed personnel, lockable containers, industrial grade shred truck, observing the process, and receiving a shred certificate. Let’s get into it!

5 Reasons For Mobile Shredding Service

Uniformed Personnel

Perhaps this is self evident, but you shouldn’t just let anyone walk up, take your documents, and go off to shred them. Our staff is all trained and uniformed appropriately so you know who they are at a glance. By receiving the highest level of compliance training, everyone is certified in the proper handling of sensitive information. You won’t be trusting just anybody.

Lockable Containers

The time between shredding is the time when something could be “misplaced”. So what is one to do? A safe place is needed that won’t bog down the workflow, and while Fort Knox sounds like a great idea, something that’s a bit more accessible is needed. Enter the shred bin, a lockable container designed to let papers in and are placed for unobtrusive yet easy access.

Only our uniformed personnel have the ability to unlock these containers, and it’s only done when shredding is about to happen. With different sizes depending on your needs, you’re able to safely store documents leading up to your shred day without violating any compliance laws.

The Industrial Shred Truck

So where exactly does the “mobile” aspect come into play with the mobile shredding service? As you may be able to guess from the above title, it comes in the form of a big white truck! So how exactly is it more secure than traditional shredding you ask? It all comes down to the fact that there is no transportation involved. Documents are loaded into the truck and shredded right on the spot.

No throwing them into the back of a wagon and driving off, no minimal capacity needed before the shredder can be turned on, and no maximum capacity for your job either for that matter. Simply load the container, raise it up, tip it over, and shred everything from papers, to folders, to staples, and paper clips. The shredder chews through all of it, and you can even see it happen live on T.V. (more on that below)!

Observing The Whole Process

At the start we suggested that turning around and trusting that shredding has occurred is a bit of a leap. With this whole mobile shredding thing, there is no need to walk off without knowing what has happened. From the time that our uniformed personnel arrives at your location, through them collecting your documents, wheeling the bin outside to the truck, and starting the shredding, you will see it all. We encourage you to come along and see everything happen.

Above you hinted at there being a T.V. feature with the trucks. This is true! There is a monitor on the side that lets you look into the belly of the beast as it were and see the magic happen. Seeing a mass of papers getting chewed up can be a sight to behold, and you’ll know without a shadow of a doubt that your records have been destroyed. Why not throw some coloured papers in to get a more impressive show while you’re there?

Certificate Of Destruction

When the confetti has cleared, there is one more thing to do before the job is done. A certificate of destruction will be signed off and awarded to you. This is a guarantee that proper shredding has happened, and is proof for your records that you were compliant with shred requirements.

Secure And Convenient

With the most secure service you can get, and the fact that it comes to you, your peace of mind won’t be sacrificing convenience. This is why we think mobile shredding services are the most secure out there, and hopefully you now see why yourself. As always, for any questions or interest in this, reach out to us and we’ll help you.

It’s what we do.

Time and time again we get reminded that information theft is on the rise. It comes in many forms and at all times of day. Internal fraud is a horrible thought, that trusted people within your organization would do this, but it does happen. A careless information disposal process can lead to some dumpster diver finding a treasure trove of private information they can exploit. A door that’s meant to be locked can act as the access point for an aspiring villain should it be left ajar, and maybe that door leads right to your server room.

In this day and age of computers and the internet we have even more potential for attack from the far reaches of the web. Cyber security mistakes can cost you more than embarrassment and a slap on the wrist. Loss of trust and finances, years of battling ahead of you in an attempt to recover. At the end of the day you may not ever come back to what you were before things went pear shaped.

With all that said, let’s look at 6 information theft facts that might just make the difference for your information security efforts.

The 6 Facts

Be wary of public Wi-Fi

The miracle of having wi-fi nearly everywhere these days is still impressive when one stops to think of it. Having access to the greatest library of information in human history right at your fingertips whenever you want. With greater access comes greater risk. A nefarious individual, properly prepared, can monitor your activity and capture any web credentials you might happen to use. Still think it’s ok to do your banking through public wi-fi?

Identity theft is always happening

Back in the olden days of 2017, it’s estimated that a new victim of identity theft is created every 2 seconds. Yes, you did in fact read that properly, every 2 seconds. A big reason for this is our old friend the internet. Having too many accounts and putting too much information out there are all avenues of risk. Consolidate your accounts, close old ones you no longer use, limit how much private information you put out there.

Personal information sells

So you have personal information out there somewhere, and maybe someone steals it. It could be your social security number, might be some medical records, or something as simple as your credit card information. The thief might not necessarily actively use it to commit fraud. Instead they can auction it to the highest bidder, making a handy little profit off your credentials, and slipping away while someone else goes about using them.

A breach in finances can clean you out

We’ve all got this nightmare of waking up one day and finding our hard earned cash gone like dust in the wind. Sometimes nightmares come true. It can only take a moment for someone with your information to clean out all your accounts, leaving you with nothing. What about instead of taking all your money, they take out massive loans in your name? You’re going to have a hard time proving it wasn’t you.

Children are targets to

Sad to say that kids aren’t any safer from information theft than the rest of us. If your child was targeted it may take years for you to find out. Children are less likely to get their information checked over until they have come of age. It’ll come as a shock when something comes up while applying for that first job.

No one is 100% safe

Well there it is, not too much else to say. We can do everything right, take all necessary steps, be as secure as possible, and still become a victim of information theft. Despite that, we still must do everything we can do prevent it.

That’s All Folks

We’ve hit our 6 facts, and hopefully you will take something away from them. If you’re interested in knowing more, Norton has a great article of 15 information theft facts you can check out. Heed what you have read here and elsewhere. The best defense is a good education on the topic so you can be as prepared as possible.

Coming to the end of another year is a good time to reflect on how it went and what you hope to accomplish for the next one. With the ever-increasing issues caused by climate change, we should all consider doing more to improve our sustainability efforts. The world’s resources are finite and everything we could do to reduce our impact and reuse what we’ve already got is imperative. Though what we can do individually varies greatly, one of the easiest and most effective things we can do, is to simply recycle properly.

From our end of things, where we are aiming the main thrust of our effort is towards the paper recycling side of sustainability. When the topic of paper recycling comes up, some people are all on board for it but are concerned with handing over their personal documents; as they should be. Once your information is out of your hands you have no control over it. Anything could happen between the time you put it out at the curb to its final destination, assuming it ends up where it’s meant to be.

Instead of completely writing off recycling your documents due to security concerns, another step needs to be inserted at the start of the process. That step is, of course, secure document shredding. This type of service is dedicated to preserving information privacy by combating information theft while also supporting sustainability efforts.

How Does Document Shredding Help Sustainability?

It all comes down to the process, which is a very simple one. The paper gets shredded into confetti, rendering it unusable to any individual who may have an interest in stealing private information, and then it is shipped directly to a recycling center for recycling. That’s it! Simple, clean, easy. That all sounds good, but what is the actual impact on sustainability levels?

Consider the following savings. Recycling just one ton of paper saves: 17 mature trees, 7,000 gallons of water, 3 cubic yards of landfill space, 2 barrels of oil, and 4,100 kilowatt-hours of electricity. That’s very impressive considering it was just one ton of paper! Now take those savings and multiply it by the fact that the United States uses approximately 85,000,000 tons of paper a year!

Imagine what could happen if we recycled every scrap of paper out there, and then expanded to all materials. It could, dare we say it, change the world.

Ultimately what we hope you take away from this is that you don’t need to sacrifice your security for sustainability, or sustainability for your security. If we all do our part and take these things seriously, it can affect real change. 

And that, in our humble opinion, is how both recycling and document shredding improves sustainability efforts.

With your business slowly gaining traction and recognition, the work is beginning to pile up. So much work, in fact, that your current employees are getting overwhelmed and overworked.

“Easy solution,” you think to yourself, “It may be time to hire another employee.”

Firstly, congratulations.

Secondly, stop there.

Before continuing, how extensive are your background checks when you hire someone? You may believe that hiring someone is an innocent-enough process, but let’s think about how much trust is truly involved.

You’re letting another person into your circle and giving them access to potentially confidential information. You want to ensure that you are hiring the right person.

Why are we bringing this up?

As mentioned in our last blog, November 17^th kicks off International Fraud Awareness Week, a global effort seeking to minimize fraud by promoting anti-fraud awareness. A lot of business owners believe that strangers are the cause of any detriments or data breaches in their business, but that isn’t always the case. Sometimes the threats come internally.

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners estimates that businesses lose 5% of their annual revenue to employee fraud and abuse. Small businesses are often more likely to be hit by employee fraud schemes, particularly businesses who have fewer than 150 employees. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 75% of employees have stolen from their employer at least once.

Being proactive and doing your due diligence is your best defense against internal fraud. Here are some tips to prevent it.

Know Your Employees

While every employer hopes to hire honest, hard working employees, having a formal hiring process in place and conducting background checks helps prevent fraud. Background checks are important, especially when it involves a potential employee handling cash, managing payments or bank account information for your business or your clients.

Limit the amount of access you give to employees regarding banking information by permitting a select few have access granted to those accounts. It’s important to trust your employees but it’s not necessary to give every employee access to banking information.

Audits

It’s important for businesses to regularly audit areas that involve cash, product returns, inventory or accounting. Non-scheduled audits are useful in catching any potential malpractices before they get out of hand.

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners offers an anti-fraud protection check-up, which is an easy and effective way to test your company’s fraud health. If you’re unsure of where to start for an audit, this a great tool to see which areas need to be improved upon and corrected.

Ensure you know your numbers regularly as well. Reviewing financial statements on a regular basis, on a monthly basis if time permits, will send off alarm bells if the numbers go awry.

Direct Deposit

Encouraging your employees to receive their payment via direct deposit is not only convenient for them, but it is beneficial for you. Losing a paycheck could leave it in the wrong hands, where that person would have access to banking information and the potential to commit payroll check fraud.

Payroll fraud comprises 8.5% of occupational fraud worldwide and costs businesses an average of $72,000 per payroll fraud case, with small businesses getting hit more often than larger businesses.

Best Practices Training

Within the insidious realm of fraud, it isn’t safe to assume that all employees will behave the same way as you. Establish anti-fraud training for your staff annually. This would be a great way to address any concerns and outline the standards. It’s also a great way of letting employees know that you’re up to date on fraud schemes. Employees can’t feign innocence if you’ve outlined what is acceptable and unacceptable. Cultivate a company that promotes integrity, by adhering to your company’s code of conduct and assuring that your employees know you expect them to adhere to it too.

Shredding Practices

While shredding documents won’t necessarily deter employees from committing fraud, shredding confidential documents and storing documents in a secure, lockable file prevents sensitive information from getting into the wrong hands, be it someone outside the company or someone within.

At A1 DATASHRED, we will provide you with security containers and consoles free of charge, making it easy for you and your staff to safely dispose of confidential business records. Contact us today or give us a call at 1-888-95-SHRED to find out more!

Fraud is still very prevalent in society these days.

International Fraud Awareness Week is coming up on November 17^th, a global effort seeking to minimize fraud by promoting anti-fraud awareness. The week-long campaign was established to encourage business leaders and employees to attempt to minimize fraud through education and anti-fraud awareness.

The news isn’t all doom and gloom. Some good news for fraud is that it has reduced its number of victims over the past two years. In 2017, 16.7 million people reported being victims of fraud, versus 14.4 million in 2018, meaning that overall rates fell by 15%.

Small businesses, however, are frequently targeted by fraud. According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), small businesses with less than 100 employees experience a median loss of $154,000. Surprisingly, this number is higher for smaller businesses than larger companies. Smaller businesses often lack the resources to implement internal checks and balances for their accounting systems.

You may believe that your business wouldn’t be targeted and protecting yourself is extreme, but that’s where you’re wrong. Each and every business should make an effort to protect themselves from security breaches.

Knowledge is power. Here are some common types of business fraud.

1.    Identity Theft

Identity theft is one of the most frequently used tricks that costs businesses thousands of dollars. According to a 2018 study, nearly 60 million Americans have been affected by identity theft. In 2018 alone, the Federal Trade Commission processed 1.4 million fraud reports totaling 1.48 million dollars in fraud losses, with the most common categories of fraud including imposter scams, debt collection and identity theft.

Preventing identity theft begins with securing and destroying confidential information. Simply throwing old documents in the recycling leaves you vulnerable to dumpster divers or anyone who wants to get a hold of sensitive information.

As we live in an era where most business is conducted online, it’s important to password protect all your files and use strong passwords that are difficult to guess. If you’re upgrading your computers or printers, make sure you dispose of them properly. Hard drive destruction is your best defense against people who want to use old devices to their advantage.

Additionally, fraudsters can gain access to your accounts when employees lose or throw out paychecks. Paychecks contain sensitive company information, such as routing and bank account numbers. If placed into the wrong hands, your business account could be accessed, and your money withdrawn from the account. Having a separate payroll account or only offering direct deposit are strategies to mitigate the threat of fraudsters from gaining access to your accounts.

2.    Payroll Fraud

You may believe that a fraud threat is only going to occur externally, but they can occur internally as well. In fact, payroll schemes occur twice as frequently in small businesses as opposed to larger companies.

Employees may ask for pay advances with no hope of paying you back. Or they could lie about hours worked on their time-sheets.

How does this happen? Well, a lot of smaller companies may not do an extensive background check on their employees. Or maybe there aren’t many security measures in place. Or maybe it’s simply an act of trust.

Conducting a background check on all employees and auditing payroll accounts will help avoid the headache later.

Internally, workers’ compensation fraud is another form of small business fraud you may come across as an owner. Worker’s compensation is the business’s defense if a worker gets injured on the job by compensating the worker for their injury. There are a variety of ways this type of fraud can be committed, so remaining vigilant and aware is key. Employees may get injured outside of work and claim this happened on the job, or they could fake an injury. Documentation and keeping up to date, accurate records and watching out for signs of fake injuries are ways of protecting your business from fraud.

3.    Fake Invoices

This hack preys on any oversight that may happen in your business. Scammers create and send false invoices that appear to be for products or services the business uses. Say, for example, your accounting department is swamped during end of the month tasks and puts the payment through. The scammers are hoping that the invoice will move through to payment without any red flags, thus draining your money with no hopes of getting it back. Typically, there is usually a sense of urgency attached to these requests, where payment is being demanded to try and scare the business into paying.

Diligence and detail-orientation is key in this scenario. Ensuring your accounting department is trained to follow procedures and won’t give in to any pressure will help you avoid scams.

Small steps can go a long way in preventing fraud in small businesses. Preventing fraud begins with small steps such as shredding important documents and hard drive destruction. At A1 Datashred, we offer a variety of shredding services to the Boston and Massachusetts area, including hard drive destruction, media destruction and scheduled shredding to save you time and organization.

Call us today at 1-888-95-SHRED or get a quote online.

We’ve been living in the digital era for quite some time now, and as beneficial as it is it also has some drawbacks, such as increased vulnerability. In what sense? For starters, your private business information is essentially a gold mine to the cyber criminals out there if you don’t have the proper protective measures in place to keep it from exposure.

In fact, the effects of ID theft and data breaches are felt by millions of consumers and businesses every day, and while businesses are aware of the importance of internal security, experts suggest the same security mistakes are still continuously made by owners. While you don’t need to be a pro in preventing cyberthreats, it’s highly recommended that you know enough about possible threats out there to plan out preventative measures and ways in which you can deal with a possible attack.

So, with that in mind, let’s look at some common security mistakes that companies are making:

Believing You’re Not a Target

The biggest mistake that commonly occurs among businesses is failing to accept the fact that hackers target all companies, big and small. If you are a small business owner and assume that only large enterprises will be targeted, you’re in for a surprise, and not the good kind! Contrary to common belief, cyber criminals prefer going after small businesses because they typically lack the security levels implemented by larger enterprises, therefore making them an easier target.

Accept the fact that you will be victimized by this crime at some point and plan accordingly. Ensuring your staff know exactly how to respond before problems worsen will help tremendously in protecting your data security and technology. Consider a data backup management plan so that if your company’s network is down briefly, you won’t suffer any loss and can still quickly get back on your feet.

Not Training Staff on Cybersecurity Awareness

Without proper training in place, it can be difficult to foster a culture of cybersecurity awareness. Your staff should be made aware of the latest threats and take the initiative to do their part in preventing them. Sure, it may seem tedious and unnecessary to train staff individually on phishing scams and unsecured websites but taking the time to do so could save your business tremendous loss and headache.

Training requires ongoing updates and shouldn’t be a one-time occurrence. Make the effort to re-train all employees, including remote and in-house staff, and focus on security protocols, being weary before clicking, and knowing what steps to take when it is obvious an attack has taken place. Hackers are more sophisticated these days than ever before. While something may appear legitimate, hackers practice a level of sophistication that can easily be missed by the untrained eye.

Ignoring Basic Best Practices

It’s easy to convince yourself that small details like password variation really don’t matter al that much.  For instance, you may be wondering whether you really need a different password for every type of login. Furthermore, you might question whether it’s necessary to change passwords on a regular basis.

Short Answer? Yes.

Password security is still a top priority in keeping internal and external threats to a minimum. Always be sure that every work device is encrypted and block access from any employee that has recently resigned or has been removed from a position that was previously granted access.

 Doing Away with Professional Services

Purchasing anti-virus software, while a great first step, typically isn’t enough to ensure you are thoroughly protected. For an effective cyber security and information security plan in general, it is in your best interest to turn to the professionals trained in these specializations. Consider partnering with an IT service provider along with a media destruction provider to cover all bases. You don’t want to be cutting corners when it comes to securing your confidential business information.

Remember that successful cyberattacks can be costly to your business, and this goes well beyond the financial losses often involved. You will quickly experience company downtime, a reduction in customer trust, and potentially even compliance fines.

We hope that you will take the above considerations and apply them moving forward. At A1 DATASHRED in Boston, our expert team will happily walk through any questions you might have in relation to cyber security and protecting your data. Avoiding these common cybersecurity mistakes will provide you with the peace of mind you deserve.

Contact us today to learn more about our business solutions.

Call 1-888-95-SHRED

If you’re like many business owners, training up on FACTA compliance is probably not at the top of your to-do list, and for good reason. After all, you have enough on your plate to ensure your daily operations continue to run smoothly and that all working parts are in place to bring your business continued success. That said, however, have you stopped to consider whether your data security measures are up to par?

Data security has become a major concern for many Americans and businesses alike. In 2018 alone, 3.3 million Massachusetts residents (which is almost half of the state’s population) were affected by a data breach. These numbers suggest that data security is a constant issue which has grown steadily over the past few years despite new advancements in data security technology and practices.

Good News? The Government’s Got Your Back

Thankfully, governments at both the state and federal level have created effective regulations to limit the number of risks consumers and organizations should experience across the United States. While there are some laws that aren’t applicable to every industry’s information needs, there is one critical piece of legislation that impacts nearly all organizations and consumers across the US.: FACTA (otherwise known as the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act.)

What Does the History of FACTA Look Like?

Signed into law in late 2003, The Fair and Accurate Transactions Act (FACTA) was designed by federal lawmakers as an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It was established with the goal of helping consumers by protecting their personal information and to hold accountable the organizations and users of consumer data who fail to protect it. As mentioned, the act applies to the majority of all consumers and organizations in and across the US.

What’s Required by Business Owners and Consumers?

FACTA requires that organizations who maintain and use consumer information take realistic measures to protect the data of both consumers and employees. This includes verifying that confidential information is disposed of properly through the right channels and using trusted methods to guarantee information doesn’t reach the wrong hands.

What kind of consumer information are we talking about?

• Drivers license
• Phone number
• Email address
• Physical address
• Social security numbers

Professional Document Shredding is the Solution

Document shredding is a proven method for the secure disposal of physical and electronic information. When done so professionally with the appropriate equipment, shredding services offer clients immediate destruction of their sensitive data through highly innovative shred equipment. The results are hard drives and documents that are virtually non-recoverable and permanently destroyed.

FACTA requires impacted organizations to take “reasonable measures” to ensure such information does not fall into the wrong hands. Reasonable measures have come to include burning, pulverizing, or shredding of paper documents. Contacting a document shredding company in Boston is highly recommended as professional services are not only trustworthy, but environmentally green as well.

We’ll Help You Comply with FACTA Rules and Regulations

A1 DATASHRED provides the expert team, equipment, and experience needed to perform shredding services of the highest quality. Whether you prefer on-site or drop-off services, regular or one-off, paper or hard drive – we can do it all.

Talk to us today to find out more about our shredding services and service region.

Call 1-888-95-SHRED

Companies are built on more than numbers and papers. There are often products involved, either produced for sale to the consumer or to help promote the business. When these products don’t meet standards, or when the event they were produced for ends, what happens to them? They’re often chucked into the trashcan. Such casual disregard, however, can pose a huge risk for both the reputation and the legal liability of the company.

Frequent Products that Pose a Risk

• Marketing Items – A pen with the company logo or a stress ball with the date of the annual shareholders review might not seem worth worrying about. At first glance, there’s not much to be gained. All the information is a matter of public record, right? The risk comes from how these items could be used if they were recovered from the dump by a third party. If company pens are passed out or sold at an unapproved event, it could damage the reputation of the business.
• Gift Cards – Discarded and unused gift cards open the door to financial fraud. If they’re recovered by a third party, it could be a very costly mistake.
• Expired or Contaminated Food Items – It makes sense to discard food items that are expired or non-sellable, but what would happen if an intact food item were accidentally retrieved and consumed? The company, despite taking an appropriate step to discard the items, might still be held liable.
• Defective Merchandise – Merchandise that isn’t quite right could still be picked out of the dump by someone with less discerning standards. If it’s resold by that third party, the blame for a poor product will still be placed on the business.
• Clothing – Regardless of whether it’s promotional t-shirts or unneeded company uniforms, all items of clothing are at risk for retrieval and resale. In a worst-case scenario, they could be used to gain access to areas or events that would normally be off-limits to the general public.
• Discontinued Merchandise – Suppose your company made a special, limited-edition product, but the window for sale closed before all the merchandise could be sold. If it’s thrown out into the trash, it could be picked up and sold privately.
• Prototypes – Ideas are some of our most precious resources. For a competing company, even developmental or rudimentary prototypes could be invaluable. Once they’re publicly disposed, there’s no way to control who has access to them.

Why Not Throw Everything in the Trash?

The short answer, plain and simple, is that products still hold value, either in terms of monetary worth or in company reputation and responsibility. Even if they hold no further importance to the business, they still present a risk if they are retrieved. It might seem silly to second-guess throwing these things out, but care and attention must be paid to potential second and third-order effects.

So, now that we’ve established the municipal dump might not be the best place for your products, the question arises: how then to dispose of them safely?

Product Destruction is the Answer

Physical destruction – into teeny-tiny, non-usable, non-recognizable bits – is 100% effective at preventing your products and information from being used in a way you don’t approve of. It doesn’t matter if the material is made of cloth, plastic, ceramic, metal, or paper. A product destruction service will guarantee that whatever needs to be destroyed is indeed removed from any possibility of reuse or reconstruction.

This service can be called whenever required, or, if materials are routinely cleared out of stock or circulation, can be arranged for a scheduled pickup. You’ll want to make sure that the company performing this service fully complies with all privacy standards and is trained to responsibly and reliably handle the items at all stages of the process.

How to Request a Product Destruction Service

A1 DATASHRED offers a variety of product destruction services, and we’re proud to carry the AAA Certification from The National Association for Information Destruction (NAID).

For more information on our services or the process of product destruction, give us a call at (978) 858-0200 or request a free quote online.