Recycling as a practice has its pros and cons. We’ve all been hearing recently about how only a fraction of what we send out to be recycled ever actually is, but to not even try isn’t an option either. While the variety of arguments we could go through regarding this topic are plentiful, that’s not what we’re here to talk about today. Nope, instead we need to talk about identity theft.
Now before you hit the back button, and double check that you clicked on the right article link, hear me out. Hopefully, everyone is aware that before certain types of paperwork can go into the recycling bin (such as financial or medical papers) it needs to be shredded first (the tinier the cross-cut the better). This is especially true for those annoying, unsolicited credit card applications that we all keep getting in the mail.
Usually you would just have to shred the intro letter and the application, and the shiny brochure and outer envelope didn’t have to be first put through the machine (saving you some time, and the wear-and-tear on your shredder). Sadly, that is no longer the case. Thanks to the enthusiastic adoption of QR codes, now the whole thing probably needs to be sliced and diced.
If you take the time to look through some of those credit card packets (and let’s face it, they’re usually the thickest envelopes anyone receives these days), you’ll see QR codes on a majority of the pages. This can often include the shiny brochure too, and occasionally even the outer envelope. If you’re lucky, that might just be a generic code that goes to a blank application when you scan it. However, to make the application process easier, some of those codes will link to a very personalized (and partially filled out) application instead.
Thanks to that, you can’t risk just tossing any part of the packet anymore. Instead, to safeguard yourself from identity theft threats, you have to make sure you shred anything that looks like an application, has a QR code on it, or has a personalized web address for you to use (which is basically the address that the QR code contains, but it’s just typed out for you instead).
Nope, the thing to do is simply shred it all if you have to. Yes, there’s supposed to be a way to stop getting the solicitations in the first place, but if you’re like me, you just haven’t found the time to go through the process yet. If you’re determined to get it done now though, ironically you’ll be able to find that info in tiny little letters in the packet too. It’ll just be considerably harder to read. Good luck Everyone, and have a Happy 4th of July!
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