Papers You Must Shred to Prevent Identity Theft 

Papers you must shred to prevent identity theft are one thing most people tend to overlook. Many people don’t know this, but the trash you have thrown out can be legally claimed by anyone who wants it.

It is cause for worry because personal information can and is routinely exploited by scammers for all sorts of illegal purposes.

Papers You Must Shred to Prevent Identity: Theft Plane Tickets

Both printed and virtual boarding passes to plains, trains, and other forms of transportation often contain plenty of your personal information. This includes your name, travel destination, and frequent flyer number, if you have one. 

Scammers can often use this information to log in to your frequent flyer account and see your upcoming trips or even cancel those if they want. So, always make sure to shred any paper tickets and never share files or screenshots of your virtual passes with anyone, let alone post pictures of these on social media.

Doctor’s Prescriptions

Prescription notes and even bottles of prescription medication can contain enough information on them for scammers to steal your identity. These often have your name, the prescription medication, and date it was issued.

This could also allow thieves to refill your prescription instead of you, so make sure to shred any papers or draw over your personal details with a black marker pen to avoid issues.

Papers You Must Shred to Prevent Identity Theft Also Include Receipts

Another often-dismissed document you must always rip apart before tossing in the wastebasket is receipts. As useless as a receipt may seem, these papers often list the last digits of your card number, your signature, and other personal information. 

That can be used to infiltrate your bank account. In addition, these documents may also give scammers the opportunity to file a return for your purchase. To avoid the problem of collecting and keeping track of every single receipt, you can also opt for digital receipts were available instead.