esrosedotblog

SLASHER

I finally succumbed to the 'stolen identity' scare and bought a shredder.

It was an article in the AARP magazine of all things.

They had a list of actions you could take and said that the single most powerful step would be to get a shredder.

I have been tearing check stubs and statements and all by hand. Then I separate the pieces into two different barrels of trash.

But, what sold me on the shredder was that they are, like most appliances that have been around for awhile, cheap as dirt.

So, it is more of a convenience buy. I suppose that I might shred more than I would by hand.

I got this nifty designer model. Amazon.

Can you imagine? Its a designer model. Michael Graves.

It will take five pages at a time. It will take one credit card. But that would be mixing recyclables.

Currently, I am shredding everything. It is fun.

I don't much worry about identity theft but it happened to one of our family so my antennae are up.

I don't fill in my SS number on any form. I make them ask and justify.

We don't have but two credit cards both of which are insured if we move quickly enough.

I don't send in for anything, check any blocks or otherwise stimulate any junk mail, phone marketing, or e-mail. I regularly clean up the cookies on my computer.

I watch all on-line purchases for VeriSign or other certifications.

Everywhere I shop they have a self swipe feature.

And so on.

There is only so much you can do though. The rest is like all life risks. Take them as they come.