topic Re: What you do to get rid of old I.D.'s and Credit Cards? in SmorgasBoard

What you do to get rid of old I.D.'s and Credit Cards?

DI — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 13:53:38 GMT

I have some duplicate inactive credit cards and various old I.D's and driver's license that's not fit to be shredded. I'm not able to burn them because I live in an apartment. I want to get rid of them. Just trashing them may set me up for identity theft. Recommendations are welcome. Advance thanks.

Re: What you do to get rid of old I.D.'s and Credit Cards?

MidnightVoice — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 14:42:57 GMT

Shredder? I have one at home, but the library or photocopy shop might have one

Re: What you do to get rid of old I.D.'s and Credit Cards?

MattH — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 15:48:58 GMT

MidnightVoice wrote:
Shredder? I have one at home, but the library or photocopy shop might have one

My wife is a medical writer who frequently has to shred confidential documents so we have a shredder, and we also feed stuff like bills and old credit cards to it. Before we had a shredder my usual method for disposing of an old credit card was cut it into six pieces with scissors, then distribute those pieces: two into my home trash, two into the trash at a filling station, and two into the trash at a retail store.

But OP should also ask around at work because there may be a shredder there. I'm in pharmaceutical research and development and therefore regularly deal with proprietary documents so we have many shredders, but nowadays almost any workplace will have at least one shredder because at the very least they will have stuff like financial and employee records that shouldn't get into the wrong hands.

Re: What you do to get rid of old I.D.'s and Credit Cards?

MarineVietVet — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:11:54 GMT

MattH wrote:
MidnightVoice wrote:
Shredder? I have one at home, but the library or photocopy shop might have one
My wife is a medical writer who frequently has to shred confidential documents so we have a shredder, and we also feed stuff like bills and old credit cards to it. Before we had a shredder my usual method for disposing of an old credit card was cut it into six pieces with scissors, then distribute those pieces: two into my home trash, two into the trash at a filling station, and two into the trash at a retail store.

But OP should also ask around at work because there may be a shredder there. I'm in pharmaceutical research and development and therefore regularly deal with proprietary documents so we have many shredders, but nowadays almost any workplace will have at least one shredder because at the very least they will have stuff like financial and employee records that shouldn't get into the wrong hands.

I've done that. That way the information can never be combined again. Actually I still do that. My shredder is fine for paper but growls at me when I put a CC in it. :smileyhappy:

Re: What you do to get rid of old I.D.'s and Credit Cards?

DI — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 17:30:36 GMT

I have a shredder, but it doesn't grind the cards and i.d.'s into unreadable pieces.

Re: What you do to get rid of old I.D.'s and Credit Cards?

ByrdMan — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 18:18:50 GMT

How about one of those big old paper cutters? You know the ones with the big blade? Cut it up the long way, then cut those strips into little pieces.

Re: What you do to get rid of old I.D.'s and Credit Cards?

DI — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 18:34:32 GMT

ByrdMan wrote:
How about one of those big old paper cutters? You know the ones with the big blade? Cut it up the long way, then cut those strips into little pieces.

Excellent idea and we have one at work. I'll do that Monday. I would have never thought about that. I use the paper cutter all the time. Thanks!

Re: What you do to get rid of old I.D.'s and Credit Cards?

Noah_Bodie — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:37:17 GMT

You could call the local MVA and ask 'em whether they will securely shred 'em. I would hope they are motivated to prevent IDs landing in the hands of someone for nefarious purposes, so it would seem they'd at least take an interest.

Yeah, yeah. I know. I've wander so far out there, I'm afraid to look down because I just know there's no longer a cliff beneath me.

Re: What you do to get rid of old I.D.'s and Credit Cards?

marty56 — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 23:32:46 GMT

Watch the Friday night Dave Ramsey show. That features the plasectomy which usually is mostly fatal to a CC.

Re: What you do to get rid of old I.D.'s and Credit Cards?

Uborrow-Upay — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 09:05:26 GMT

DI wrote:
I have some duplicate inactive credit cards and various old I.D's and driver's license that's not fit to be shredded. I'm not able to burn them because I live in an apartment. I want to get rid of them. Just trashing them may set me up for identity theft. Recommendations are welcome. Advance thanks.

Before I got a shredder at home that could handle those things, I'd bring 'em down to my insurance agent's office and use his shredder. That thing could eat whatever got put into it.

I finally did get a decent shredder for my in-home office; it shreds ID's, credit cards, CDs and DVDs, etc. It also partially-mangles an occasional letter-opener. Wasn't sure at the time if it was worth the money or not (I believe I paid close to $180), but it sure chops things up in a heartbeat, whether you want it to or not!

Re: What you do to get rid of old I.D.'s and Credit Cards?

haulingthescoreup — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:53:47 GMT

Uborrow-Upay wrote:

...I finally did get a decent shredder for my in-home office; it shreds ID's, credit cards, CDs and DVDs, etc. It also partially-mangles an occasional letter-opener. Wasn't sure at the time if it was worth the money or not (I believe I paid close to $180), but it sure chops things up in a heartbeat, whether you want it to or not!

:D

I always enjoy the caution sticker on shredders that show a necktie being swallowed up. Good argument for wearing clip-on ties! Or no tie at all, of course.

Re: What you do to get rid of old I.D.'s and Credit Cards?

bicknar — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:26:03 GMT

A little off topic, so please forgive, but the necktie warning just brought back memories. I had a customer who kept their shredder under the desk. It had one of the sensors to automatically turn on when something entered the shredding zone. Well his mouse cord dangled a little low one day and the thing devoured the cord up to the mouse and yanked the other end from the computer.

I wish I knew that model, cause if it can eat a mouse I'm sure it can eat a little bit of plastic.

Back on topic.... If you are shopping for a shredder that will work on plastic, you can get one that is marketed to shred CDs as well. You can get a smaller one that will handle these tasks. or pay extra for a larger one that will handle standard paper as well. Guess it all depends on your needs.

Re: What you do to get rid of old I.D.'s and Credit Cards?

MattH — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:06:03 GMT

haulingthescoreup wrote:
Uborrow-Upay wrote:

...I finally did get a decent shredder for my in-home office; it shreds ID's, credit cards, CDs and DVDs, etc. It also partially-mangles an occasional letter-opener. Wasn't sure at the time if it was worth the money or not (I believe I paid close to $180), but it sure chops things up in a heartbeat, whether you want it to or not!

:D

I always enjoy the caution sticker on shredders that show a necktie being swallowed up. Good argument for wearing clip-on ties! Or no tie at all, of course.

Yep, in a previous life I was an engineer and they told us, if you work around rotating machinery then wear clip-on ties. Nowadays I rarely wear ties at all, thanks to business casual, which is a good thing because ties constrict circulation to the brain! Even worse, since veins are near the surface and arteries deeper, a loose constricting band around the neck tends to make the head swell, just like when giving blood and they tied a loose band around my arm...

Re: What you do to get rid of old I.D.'s and Credit Cards?

JMN — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 09:19:17 GMT

Not entirely environmentally friendly, but whenever a few buddies of mine have a bonfire at the local beach, I'll usually toss any old cards into it. We usually have one every few weeks, so it's often enough to catch anything that needs destruction.

Now, I don't suggest it with alcohol. While I haven't done this, my buddy, after a few drinks, threw his whole wallet into the fire after he learned of my method of destruction. He only had ONE card to get rid of.

Needless to say, we laughed quite a bit at that. He wasn't too thrilled the next day.