Should I shred all my papers?

[hannnah]

My brother got upset with me the other day because I just rip up mail that I get and don't shred it with a shredder because I don't have one. He said that i was tempting to get my identity stolen. I said it hadn't happened in 15 years, why would it start now? He insists that it's very dangerous not to shred papers.

Seriously, is it really that important? It seems that if anyone really wanted to steal your identity, they could do so whether you shred papers or not. How important is it to shred papers really?

[97guns]

up to this point i have only torn them up also, my brother is anal like yours and shreds everything.

[shaggy]

I don't shred many documents, and I don't even bother tearing up envelopes. Names and addresses are ridiculously easy to get.

[cypher1]

I tend to only shred documents that contain bank account numbers, PIN, SSN listed. Don't have much on paper so its not much.

[Jerry91]

Make sure that you do not share your personal details with anyone. That will help you save yourself from identity theft. Shredding papers is a good option but if you are overall careful with your papers, then you may not have to always shred the papers.

[bjl584]

In this day and age you are probably more likely to have your ID stolen online. Shredding your mail is a good way to keep people that may dig through your trash from getting your personal information, but shredding papers is only one piece of a large puzzle. There are many other areas that you must pay attention to truly protect your identity.

Be careful shopping online. Have a dedicated credit card when you do.

Use a credit card and not a debit card as much as possible

Make sure others aren't around or watching you when at an ATM or using a pinpad