Old Cheque Books

Emily_Joy

I have been tidying up my papers and found a few cheque books for the accounts which have been closed by switching some a year or two ago. What would be a safe way to get rid of them? I haven't got shredder.

smashinglynaive

Emily_Joy said:

I have been tidying up my papers and found a few cheque books for the accounts which have been closed by switching some a year or two ago. What would be a safe way to get rid of them? I haven't got a shredder.

Throwing them in the bin is a perfectly safe way of getting rid of them.

Section62

smashinglynaive said:

Emily_Joy said:

I have been tidying up my papers and found a few cheque books for the accounts which have been closed by switching some a year or two ago. What would be a safe way to get rid of them? I haven't got a shredder.

Throwing them in the bin is a perfectly safe way of getting rid of them.

I wouldn't put anything personally identifying in a bin without it being shreded first. It isn't as safe as you might think.

Personally I'd find a (safe) way of burning them... alternatively take them to a branch of the issuing bank and ask them to securely destroy them.

FatherTireseus

I would also be hesitant about putting them in a bin, but I tend to be ultra cautious about personal information going into the bin. 

Some time ago my mother bought me a pair of ‘shredding scissors’.  They’re multi bladed scissors that, well, act like a shredder.  They only really work on one bit of paper at a time and it is very manual but for relatively small quantities of paper I find them very useful.  You’d only really have to use them on the information on the bottom of the cheque.

Shredding scissors are also useful for chopping herbs!

WillPS

What is a thief going to do with a defunct chequebook?

A cheque from it won't be accepted and any attempt to would be more likely to cause problems for the person trying than the former account holder. If you're at all concerned then a strike through would stop that from being even a possibility.

In terms of potential for fraud - well I'm not entirely sure that a name and a defunct account number would be much use for that either.

Put it in the recycling.

Section62

WillPS said:

What is a thief going to do with a defunct chequebook?

Dump it?

Aside from any possible fraud issues, putting personally identifing items in bins runs the risk of them ending up being flytipped, and the named person being investigated for the offence.  A quick search of the forum will give results showing how easily this can happen, and how difficult it is to defend when it does.

Binned financial documents may be of interest to a fraudster... they might have zero value, but the person nicking them from your recycling bin isn't going to spend time checking the details before taking them. What they do with them subsequently can cause you bigger problems than someone trying to steal money from a defunct account.

Don't put personally identifying documents - particularly ones which might be attractive to thieves - into rubbish/recycling bins, without them being shreded first.

smashinglynaive

Section62 said:

WillPS said:

What is a thief going to do with a defunct chequebook?

Dump it?

Aside from any possible fraud issues, putting personally identifing items in bins runs the risk of them ending up being flytipped, and the named person being investigated for the offence.  A quick search of the forum will give results showing how easily this can happen, and how difficult it is to defend when it does.

Binned financial documents may be of interest to a fraudster... they might have zero value, but the person nicking them from your recycling bin isn't going to spend time checking the details before taking them. What they do with them subsequently can cause you bigger problems than someone trying to steal money from a defunct account.

Don't put personally identifying documents - particularly ones which might be attractive to thieves - into rubbish/recycling bins, without them being shreded first.

I have no idea what a fraudster is going to do with an outdated chequebook.  Any cheques are going to be bounced and there is virtually no personally identifiable information anyway.

Do you really think fraudsters are running around digging through people's bins on the off chance they've thrown a chequebook in there?

No.  They might do that with a businesses bins as they might have chucked actual important things like card receipts with full card numbers, but residential bins? No.  And they have no value anyway.

Section62

smashinglynaive said:

I have no idea what a fraudster is going to do with an outdated chequebook.  Any cheques are going to be bounced and there is virtually no personally identifiable information anyway.

From the flytipping risk perspective your name is all that is required to get you into trouble.  The local authority can obtain all the other information they need to find your address to send the FPN to.

smashinglynaive said:

Do you really think fraudsters are running around digging through people's bins on the off chance they've thrown a chequebook in there?

No.  They might do that with a businesses bins as they might have chucked actual important things like card receipts with full card numbers, but residential bins? No.

That's two 'No's.  You seem very sure. Unfortunately you are also wrong.

I thought it was fairly common knowledge that domestic bins (at least in some parts of the country) were targeted by theives looking for personal data.  Has your bank never warned you about this?

smashinglynaive said:

And they have no value anyway.

Given you said you "have no idea what a fraudster is going to do with an outdated chequebook"...  how do you know what value they might have to someone else?

You may be happy taking a relaxed attitude towards the security of your own personal data, that's your choice.  But before advising other people to take risks you really ought to check the facts and the advice that financial institutions give customers.

daveyjp

Scissors are just as effective as a shredder.  If that is too arduos a task tear them off the books and put the cheques in a bucket of water until they are like papier mache.

IanManc

smashinglynaive said:

Do you really think fraudsters are running around digging through people's bins on the off chance they've thrown a chequebook in there?

No.  They might do that with a businesses bins as they might have chucked actual important things like card receipts with full card numbers, but residential bins? No.  And they have no value anyway.

@Section62 is correct. Fraudsters do target domestic bins looking for documents with names, addresses and financial details.

The Actionfraud website says: "Criminals commit identity theft by stealing your personal information. This is often done by taking documents from your rubbish or by making contact with you and pretending to be from a legitimate organisation."

Identity fraud and identity theft | Action Fraud

smashinglynaive

IanManc said:

smashinglynaive said:

ActionFraud say a lot of things but they're well known for being as useful as a chocolate fireguard.  Anyone who listens to them is an idiot.

What personal information is someone going to get from a chequebook?

I'd rather listen to them than listen to you.

You have no expertise in the subject whatsoever.

And you know that how?

Explain to me what personal information of any value is gained from an old chequebook?

A defunct sort code and account number and a name that it's probably discernable from the phone book or 192.com?