We all are concerned about our privacy in this day and age, but is not this going too far …
Do you really want to spend 20 dollars to shred your junk mail???
cant you just throw it away . like I do
I want to know your concerns and measures you take to protect your privacy.
and no, I dont work for Staples, so this is not a promotion of their products
Re: Your Privacy Concern
The only junk mail that I shred, in my regular shredder (thankyouverymuch), is the one that is from credit card companies with an approved offer that has my information pre-filled on the application. Otherwise, it goes in trash, sits and rots with food and other junk, and then goes into the dumpster and rots some more. By the time it reaches the landfill area, I don't think it's readable.
Re: Your Privacy Concern
Not every Junk mail ... But i do bring old Bank /CC statments and other hush -hush yokes at my work place and shred them ..
Re: Your Privacy Concern
Most of the cases of identity fraud happen when the perpetrator goes thru garbage and finds things like credit card applications...you know, those numerous mailings you get, all you have to do is sign it and you get a credit card with a 20 thousand dollar limit...they sign it themselves, update the address and voila they have a credit card that YOU have to pay for.
We have a 10-dollar shredder but we dont use it in the winter. We have a fireplace that we use for all of our Junk mail - it gets burned. In the summer, we shred.
Re: Your Privacy Concern
Private statements/bills, etc.: I just tear up and throw out. I don't think anyone has time to put them back together peice by piece.
Online privacy: I have never had any issues in the past so many years so hopefully I will not in the future.
Re: Your Privacy Concern
Okay so it sounds like that people have more concern with someone going through their trash , rather than online identity theft ...
My credit card statement has no info written on it that is not already known to others (my name and address)
they dont print all 16 digits of account number anymore ...
only last 4
Re: Your Privacy Concern
I don't even get paper statements of my acconts (CC, utility, etc.). All that is available online. What I do DO is print it to Adobe, password protect it, and then put it on my flash drive. I would rather not have my personal information floating around in the mail. Also, it eliminates any delays in the delivery.
Re: Your Privacy Concern
One of my bigger pet peeves is my bank/credit card company sending me pre-printed checks - for balance transfers - no less. First of all I don't do balance transfers. Second, I didn't request these. And third, why do you have to fill out the whole check and send it to me by mail. I am sure, it requires some more dancing through the hoops before a nefarious criminal will be able to turn these checks to actual money, but for crying out loud, why do banks think this is such a great idea.
First of all, I think all these "credit card offers", Bank One and Chase, really take the cake here - should be fined an enormous amount of money for all the paper they waste when they keep sending their unsolicited junk to millions of homes every day. These are your real real-life environmental abusers here. And secondly, they should be forbidden from sending unsolicited balance-transfer checks to anyone. If someone is so desperate to do balance transfer, he or she can as easily pick up a darned phone and ask the bank to send some, so they can suffer even more in the indignation of living a life mired in mounting debt and self-torture.
Re: Your Privacy Concern
we shred anything and everything that has personally identifiable information... which includes name and address (virtually everything I suppose). Of course there's no foolproof way of prventing ID theft... but I just try to do things so that odds are stacked in my favor.
I've just had a couple of very close friends who were victims of identity fraud and I've been careful ever since.
Also another thing I've started doing over the last couple of years is stop signing the back of my credit card. This way, any credit card purchase requires the POS person to check a piece of photo id rather than just rely on a simple signature. Additionally, I label the back of my cards with "Please check signed Photo ID".
Re: Your Privacy Concern
I shred all my junk mail, with my bare two hands. 
Re: Your Privacy Concern
Also another thing I've started doing over the last couple of years is stop signing the back of my credit card. This way, any credit card purchase requires the POS person to check a piece of photo id rather than just rely on a simple signature.
But what if I found your credit card and just sign my signatures at the back,
... cause the signature strip is so conveniently blank
Re: Your Privacy Concern
But what if I found your credit card and just sign my signatures at the back,
... cause the signature strip is so conveniently blank
I should have mentioned that there's no signature AND a label that reads "Please check signed Photo ID".
Re: Your Privacy Concern
Accept some junk mails which doesn’t have adress,I shred everything. ANd identity theft or credit cards fauds are very common these days so I think its always better to be careful. 
Re: Your Privacy Concern
I must admit that I am not as disciplined as you folks sound ...
but yes , I do take advantage of free credit report (that everyone is entitled of once a year) to see if there are any goof ups :D
Re: Your Privacy Concern
I just tear up the junk mail in half and throw it in Kitchen's trash can where all the "good" trash goes. i.e. loose tea, left over food, spoiled fruits/vegetables, etc. :D
Re: Your Privacy Concern
i know u work for different shredder company 
Re: Your Privacy Concern
I used to shred that stuff but not anymore.A company that I have an account with sent me this letter that some of their computers got stolen with all the customer info on them...so I guess not of use anymore ..more or less everything is virtual in todays world...I wonder when we all will have our very own personal barcodes on our necks!!
Re: Your Privacy Concern
I should have mentioned that there's no signature AND a label that reads "Please check signed Photo ID".
I believed in the same "check for id" trick before someone conveniently bought a collection of Ryanair tickets on my tab. Some other flaws in the "ask for ID" route:
Re: Your Privacy Concern
Recyle your junk mail!
or rather goggle stop junk mail!
Re: Your Privacy Concern
I always remove my personal details (name, address, DOB, ref num) from my letters; I shred these bits and throw the rest of the letter away.
I keep my statements/bills etc for about 3 years and then I shred them. I also shred my credit cards after they’ve expired or no longer used.
I also always answer “No” to the “I would like to receive more info” question that you sometimes get asked on forms and online applications for quotes/products/sales info. This way I reduce the circulation of my personal details and reduce the amount of junk mail I get too.
Also, if I have previously signed up for something, for example a free catalogue/newsletter, when I no longer require it, I mark it “Return To Sender” and put it back in the post-box. It goes back to where it came from and my details are removed from their database. (I don’t know if this works outside of the U.K i.e. USA, Canada).
:)