Credit Card Shredding

It is estimated that there are over 20.48 billion credit cards, debit cards and prepaid cards in global circulation. This figure is impressive, but not as impressive as the total gross fraud losses to issuers and merchants reaching a staggering $US24.6 billion against a total volume of transactions of $US34.119 trillion worldwide. These figures showcase exactly how important credit cards are to the global economy[1].
 
Even more importantly, keeping credit card details secure is critical for people and business – only 30% of cardholders expect their identity to be stolen yet 21% have had their credit cards used for fraudulent purposes in the past year[2]. A fraudster won’t think twice about rummaging through waste bins to get at the valuable names, signatures, expiry dates, the 16-digit number sets, and the Card Security Code (CSC) stored on credit cards - not when then the financial rewards are so high.
 
Regulations vary from country to country on the legalities of opening someone else’s waste left in a public area for collection; but whatever the law, it won’t matter to the credit card thieves. The absolute and secure destruction of credit cards when no longer in use will be essential to personal protection. Disposing of an unwanted credit card in the bin is not recommended. A guaranteed method of secure credit card disposal is credit card shredding.

Why is it important to shred credit cards?

Credit card shredding is vital for the security of personal identity in today’s world where this crime is so widespread, and so costly for the victim. According to a 2017 Identity Fraud Study, more than $107 billion was stolen by identity thieves in 2017 and that doesn’t even touch the non-financial impact on the victims. A study released by the Identity Theft Resource Center found that 77.3% of victims had increased stress levels and 54.5% had increased fatigue and decreased energy. The findings also revealed that victims of identity theft experienced a loss in trust with an impact on jobs and relationships.

These figures do more than just showcase the widespread financial and emotional implications of credit card fraud, they underscore the importance of credit card shredding and secure disposal. Destroying a credit card is necessary for the security of personal identity and investing in the right tools to manage this destruction is vital. Bulk credit card shredding requires the use of specialised tools that will guarantee beyond doubt that the cards, and the crucial data they contain, are rendered unrecognisable and irretrievable. This level of credit card shredding makes it hard for anyone to put the pieces together or reconstruct the card in any kind of meaningful way.

How to safely destroy a credit card?

Credit card shredding requires a heavy-duty shredder that’s capable of cutting through the tough plastic of the card. Credit card shredding services are also an excellent way of ensuring that details are destroyed effectively. Shred-it has the equipment required to cross-shred the credit cards in bulk, ensuring that the information is completely shredded into tiny fragments, including the magnetic strip and the chip – which contain the sensitive and important information.

Shred-it Singapore has a General Waste Disposal Facilities (GWDFs) license issued by the National Environment Agency (NEA), which allows Shred-it's facilities to receive, store, process or treat different types of waste. This is testament to our strong reputation and rigorous custody protocols to manage shredding and disposal.

The right credit card shredding provider is flexible, on demand, certified, has a secure chain of custody and provides a certificate of destruction that proves the credit cards were destroyed and responsibly disposed of.

Best practice tips for secure credit card shredding:

1. If using scissors, be sure to cut through the credit card signature, numbers sets and CSC
2. If possible, seek an industrial shredder that has a cross-cutting function to securely destroy the credit card data
3. Pay particular attention to destroy the credit card data held on magnetic strips an dchips
4. Bag the credit card fragments separately in different waste bins
5. Limit the number of credit cards in personal use to reduce the possibility of loss and fraud

Sources:

[1] https://nilsonreport.com/publication_chart_and_graphs_archive.php?1=1&year=2018#

[2] https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/comparecards-survey-finds-just-1-in-3-cardholders-expect-to-be-a-victim-of-identity-theft-young-millennials-most-likely-to-experience-card-fraud-300808516.html