# Do you have a personal paper shredder? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 30, 2007, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487 "2007-08-30T12:47:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487/1 "2007-08-30T12:47:33Z")
Some dude at work was surprised I didn’t have a paper shredder in my home. I told him, “I bet you’re the only guy here who has one.” We asked about 10 different co-workers. Every single one of them had a paper shredder. One guy had two. Why? “Identity theft.” “Oh yeah, identity theft.” “Identity theft.” Whatever theft. :rolleyes: Not that any of these guys even knows anyone who knows anyone who has had their identity stolen. Besides, I think about 99.99% of “identity theft” cases are some kid using his mom’s credit card without asking permission. The real cases make great scare stories, though. . .something for the news programs to muckle onto to fill another 5 minutes. Do you have one? Why? Am I the crazy one, for thinking this whole “identity theft” thing is overblown? ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487/2 "2007-08-30T12:50:43Z")
Well I don’t have one but I used to work at company that sold them. Come on man they have ones that shred paper clips, CD’s and credit cards now. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487/3 "2007-08-30T12:52:38Z")
I’ve never even considered the possibility that any average person would like to have one. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487/4 "2007-08-30T12:54:14Z")
Yep, I have me a nice little sensor-activated cross-cutter. Why? Identity theft. Anything with any kind of personal information or any mail containing anything I can sign up for goes into it and is lovingly chewed to 1/8 inch by 3/4 inch pieces. Waste of time? Maybe, but it’s barely any time and it makes me feel better. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487/5 "2007-08-30T12:54:50Z")
I have one and I love shredding junk mail. Sometimes, I get excited when I get junk mail just so I can shred it. It feels like saying, “Screw you!” to the advertisers. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487/6 "2007-08-30T12:59:59Z")
I have one at home, but to be fair, I work for a major Office Supplies company. I mainly have one because I tend to keep two years worth of cable bill stubs and stuff like that, so if I’m gonna throw 'em away, I might as well have fun shredding them first. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487/7 "2007-08-30T13:03:11Z")
I have one. Not because of identity theft, but because guinea pig bedding is expensive. Of course shredding my personal documents, then composting them soaked in rodent excreta happens also to be quite a secure method of disposal. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487/8 "2007-08-30T13:06:36Z")
[This program](http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/programmes/real_hustle/scams.shtml) demonstrated identity theft based on one document in the rubbish. Plus from [here](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/nottinghamshire/6246922.stm): “A criminologist from Leicester has warned householders are still not taking enough precautions against the risk of identity fraud. … Martin Gill from the University of Leicester said such paperwork should be shredded or burnt.” ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487/9 "2007-08-30T13:13:30Z")
We have one because my SO is afraid of identity theft, yes. So? It makes him feel better, and it’s fun to have the shredder chew up things. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487/10 "2007-08-30T13:14:46Z")
Yes. The day we got it we probably shredded 30 documents with financial/personal information before putting them in the trash. Honestly, I’m not sure it’s been used since. ---
**Author:** ![Walkabout](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walkabout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walkabout)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487/11 "2007-08-30T13:22:22Z")
I never considered it until yesterday, when my neighbor informed me that she had seen the garbage men taking papers out of our garbage and keeping them. I don’t know what papers or why, but it certainly makes me nervous enough to think about getting a shredder. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487/12 "2007-08-30T13:33:44Z")
I do. It is a pain in the backside, but I use it. My mother, who burns her paper trash, also shreds it first. Now that is what I call being secure! ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487/13 "2007-08-30T13:38:11Z")
We’ve got one. It’s fun to use and it’s the bee’s knees if you need to get rid of confidential documents. I guess we could burn them but that’s even more of a hassle. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487/14 "2007-08-30T13:41:32Z")
I have a shredder. Why? It was cheap (under $20) and adds a small amount of security. In my case, I mostly use it to shred those annoying credit card offers, as well as things I print out for temporary use that contain an account number (like my bank statement) that I need the hard copy for to balance my books but don’t want to keep around. Besides, shredders are fun. And scare the heck out of the cat. ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487/15 "2007-08-30T13:42:38Z")
I recently bought one, as I’m moving and discovered I had years and years of old bill stubs and assorted statements socked away in a closet. Like almost everyone else has said, it’s fun to shred stuff. ---
**Author:** ![JohnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/848f3c/32.png) [@JohnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnM)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487/16 "2007-08-30T13:43:32Z")
Yes, we have one and use it pretty religiously. Someone got a Nextel account using my wife’s name and SSN, and dealing with the collection agency was such a pain that we got very serious about shredding, computer security, etc. ---
**Author:** ![tbdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@tbdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tbdi)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487/17 "2007-08-30T14:01:18Z")
I have one, partly because it further reduces the chance of identity theft and partly because there is a small amount of satisfaction in being able to shred junk mail without opening it. Besides, without one I’d never get to come home to [this](http://members.cox.net/tbdipics/shimipaper.jpg). I was finding little slivers of paper for months. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487/18 "2007-08-30T14:14:43Z")
I have one and I shred financial documents. I’m not really concerned about identity theft. But, I live in a large apartment complex and I don’t want that stuff floating around. I also believe that most “identity theft” is caused by teenagers or ex spouses/boyfriends/girlfriends. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487/19 "2007-08-30T14:23:59Z")
[QUOTE=Mangetout] I have one. Not because of identity theft, but because guinea pig bedding is expensive. Of course shredding my personal documents, then composting them soaked in rodent excreta happens also to be quite a secure method of disposal. [/QUOTE] We bought one recently when I found a large stash of old medical papers (insurance EOBs etc.) and thought that perhaps those should be shredded. Also a lot of old docs have our SSN on them. Dunno how big a problem “dumpster diving” is where I live (trash just goes to the curb on trash day and unknowns sorting through it would be hard to miss) but it doesn’t hurt. So far though we’ve only used it to shred a box of unusable checks (went missing, reported/canceled, then found). That one little box of checks filled the bin. I thought about using it for piggy bedding but was worried about poisoning the beasties - do you find they try to chew on it? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2007, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487/20 "2007-08-30T14:25:20Z")
We have two, one by each computer. Financial records, personal mail, anything the slightest bit useful to a thief gets shredded. Plus, as mentioned upthread, they freak the cats something fierce! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-a-personal-paper-shredder/417487.md?page=2)