Greetings!

Let's start with the horror stories and move on from there...

I have never been hit with ID theft, but I have had my cell phone cloned twice (in the old days of analog signal).

I know two people who have had their identity stolen. One of them, very well (my boss - Monmouth county, NJ). In his case, he got off lucky. It was only one fraudulent credit card in his name and identity being billed to / shipping to the Bronx. He was able to get everything cleared up quite quickly (a few months), but even years after he would get letters from collection agents. They buy and sell each other lists of "bad debt" in hopes of getting one return in 1,000. Just like spammers. One letter to them along with a cease and desist order stops that one, but they just resell it to someone else... All of this occurred while he was in the middle of applying for financial aid for his daughter's college! Ugly.

More horror stories, many far worse, can be seen on the government's ID Theft resource site. Possible nasty case scenarios include: getting a criminal record under someone else's name, getting life insurance and declaring yourself dead, changing your address and redirecting your other mail and bills, etc...

They can get your data from dumpster diving, stealing incoming mail (including pre-approved credit card notices) from your mailbox (yes, I have seen this happen - that is how my boss "got it") but social engineering and paying off someone for the information (inside jobs) is easier. Do you actually write your social security number or driver's license number on anything you give to, say, your doctor's office? When you pay bills? Buying groceries with a check? Do they destroy that information after they are done???

I personally shred everything! I also opt out of any new credit card offers, credit offers of any form and all junk mail possible. I never give my social security number, driver's license number or date of birth on anything. I deliberately lie on those "security questions" that are asked by web sites - using something that I will remember, but is not completely accurate. If someone asks me for what I consider sensitive information, I ask myself why (how will they use it) and go accordingly. Why does my doctor's office want my driver's license number? Why does the company I ordered my computer case want my social security number and date of birth? In many of these cases, I just leave the question blank, and explain if necessary. Very rarely has it caused problems.

Paranoia, probably. But having seen what is involved with fixing this kind of thing, it is better to get into a habit of being a bit more cautious than getting burned and having to spend a year or two trying to fix it.

As for shredders, do not count on being able to rip your junk up small enough. This morning in the driveway, there was a small fragment of paper, perhaps 1/8th of a standard (US standard, that is) 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper. On that fragment was someone's name (from down the street - it has been windy), the company's name, the statement that their request for credit has been denied and that it was because of previous delinquencies... Not what I would want floating around in the neighborhood.

(For Blue Man Group fans, there is Exhibit 13 in memory of the World Trade Center / Pentagon attacks.)

A normal shredder changes your 8.5" wide sheet into, maybe, 0.25" strips. But these strips are still 11" long, and tend to bulk fill recycle bins quickly. A cross cut shredder will cut 4 or 5 times along that 11" length, so you have small confetti bits instead of long strips. They pack much more densely for recycle and you do not have to empty the bin as often.

Is it paranoia if the world is really out to get you?