Fellowes P-12C Paper Shredder & Identity Theft Tips

All families face the threat of identity theft—especially during tax season. Government documents, medical bills and store receipts all contain sensitive information that can lead to this costly crime. From sifting through the trash to checking mail boxes, identity thieves have elaborate methods of stealing information from homes. The best way to keep these criminals from obtaining your personal information is by shredding confidential paper documents after use.

Fellowes, Inc. recognizes the importance of minimizing risk of identity theft, one of the nation’s fastest growing crimes. As a result, Fellowes developed the following safety tips to help you protect your family from identity theft, both during tax season and throughout the year:

* Update personal computers with firewalls and security software, including antivirus programs.

* Contact the IRS (800-829-1040) if you do not receive W-2 forms and other sensitive information by February 15, as this may indicate that an identity thief intercepted such documents.

* Send tax returns from a locked mailbox/post office to ensure thieves cannot get to it before the postal service.

* If sending in tax forms via post mail, make sure all forms, identification documents and enclosed checks are not visible from the outside. Try wrapping everything in an extra sheet of paper to disguise its contents.

* Keep tax paperwork and other documents in a safe and accessible place, such as a fireproof box.

* After filing taxes, shred any backup documents with a Cross-Cut paper shredder, like Fellowes’ P-12C, which is essential because it shreds a single sheet of paper into hundreds of tiny particles to ensure confidential information is destroyed beyond recognition.

FEATURES OF THE FELLOWES P-12C PAPER SHREDDER:

-The P-12C also features patented SafeSense® technology, which stops the machine immediately when hands or large pets come too close to the paper opening.
-The machine features the ability to shred CDs, DVDs, credit cards and staples.
-The P-12C offers Fellowes’ Worry Free Warranty, ensuring shredders work the first time, every time.
-Fellowes P-12C is available at Target and Target.com for $89.99.

MY THOUGHTS ON THE FELLOWES P-12C PAPER SHREDDER:

I spent several years working in finance when I was in college. I was a bank teller, a customer service rep, a loan officer and credit counselor. I always stressed to my clients the importance of securing their financial information.

It never really occurred to me do it as well. I never shredded documents. Or really protected my financial information any other way.

We have been pretty lucky. So far.

Enter the Fellowes P-12C Paper Shredder. I was pretty excited to be given the opportunity to check it out.

The day that it came, I quickly set up and begin to shred things. All kinds of things. This thing was pretty fun. And fast.

Soon I was looking for old school papers. Coloring pages. Anything shred-able.  I was really having a great time.

The coolest thing was that I could re-use all of the paper that I shredded. I packed several boxes of things that I sold on eBay. I shipped everything out all nestled in paper shreddings. The shreddings make the perfect box filler.

I would definitely recommend that anyone shred their unneeded financial documents. I have always recommended that people do this. Now I just take my own advice and do it too!

About Fellowes, Inc.
Headquartered in Itasca, Ill., Fellowes, Inc. offers an impressive range of products to equip the workspace, including paper shredders, binders and laminators, desktop accessories and record storage solutions. Fellowes, Inc. owns and operates subsidiaries in Canada, United Kingdom, Benelux, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Russia, Singapore, Japan, Korea, China and Australia. The company employs more than 2,700 people throughout the world and expects global sales in excess of $700 million this year. For more information, visit www.fellowes.com.

DISCLOSURE: I wrote this review while participating in a Mom Central
Consulting blog tour on behalf of Fellowes. I received a Fellowes
paper shredder to facilitate my review.