Old Cheque Books

Money_Grabber13579

If you don’t have a shredder, you could always do what I do with old bank cards, which is to cut them into 4 pieces, with each cut being strategically placed so that each individual piece doesn’t provide any complete information. Then put each of the 4 pieces in the bin, but spread across 4 different weeks/bin collections. By my reckoning, the chances of anyone ever finding each of the 4 pieces and putting them together again is incredibly small.

smashinglynaive

Money_Grabber13579 said:

If you don’t have a shredder, you could always do what I do with old bank cards, which is to cut them into 4 pieces, with each cut being strategically placed so that each individual piece doesn’t provide any complete information. Then put each of the 4 pieces in the bin, but spread across 4 different weeks/bin collections. By my reckoning, the chances of anyone ever finding each of the 4 pieces and putting them together again is incredibly small.

The idea that they'd even bother looking for it is smaller than the chance of them finding anything of any value.

[Deleted User]

Rip them up into tiny bits and put them in your general waste bin. I don't understand folk who put identifiable docs in the paper recycling bin.

Emily_Joy

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.

In this particular case your advice lives is up to your username. My old cheque book contains my name, my old address and bank account details. The only bits which are missing are a phone number, which is google-able, my job requires that it is available online,  and date of birth which is also google-able. What value does it have? Perhaps somebody will be sufficiently interested to take a credit agreement in my name with one of not-so-picky credit providers?

All emails from the banks include family name and post code for a reason. The more fraudsters know about you, the easier for them is impersonate you or somebody who you are supposed to trust.

RG2015

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.

Just out of interest, how do you dispose of your other documents that contain personal information?

SiliconChip

Emily_Joy said:

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.

My old cheque book contains my name, my old address and bank account details.

I must have had cheque books from in the region of 20 different banks over the last 45 years and not one of them has included my address anywhere other than perhaps on the cover sheet, which I would have removed on receipt anyway. If you're suggesting that you have cheques that include your address please tell us who issues such cheques so we can avoid them.

I assume that those of you who advicate shredding cheques for defunct accounts do so while wearing your best tin foil hats! There are many easier and more successful ways for identity theft to take place, this isn't one to worry about.

Section62

SiliconChip said:

I assume that those of you who advicate shredding cheques for defunct accounts do so while wearing your best tin foil hats! There are many easier and more successful ways for identity theft to take place, this isn't one to worry about.

A very unhelpful contribution to the thread. Why did you feel the need to belittle other people who have given the correct advice?

Putting items with personally identifying information on them in a domestic bin without first shredding them is a bad idea. There shouldn't be a need for an argument about it... it is a fact.

born_again

Deleted_User said:

Rip them up into tiny bits and put them in your general waste bin. I don't understand folk who put identifiable docs in the paper recycling bin.

I do the reverse. Normal rubbish goes to landfill, some not always in the UK. Recycling paper means any info is destroyed in the process of making new paper.

Best way is just to tear them up into bits, if you do not have a shredder.

To the people that think that because you have switched they are useless...

The Cheque Redirection Service

A key benefit of the Current Account Switch Service is the promise that any payments made to your old account will be redirected to your new account for 36 months after your switch takes place. The Cheque Redirection Service, which is owned and operated by the Cheque and Credit Clearing Company, is part of this service. 

https://www.chequeandcredit.co.uk/cheque-users/consumers/current-account-switch-service

Section62

born_again said:

 

Normal rubbish goes to landfill, some not always in the UK. Recycling paper means any info is destroyed in the process of making new paper.

It depends where you live.  In many areas the 'rubbish' is incinerated/energy recovered, with/without pre-processing to remove further recyclables.  The remainder is landfilled in the UK.

No UK domestic 'rubbish' collected by local authorities should be exported, particularly not for landfilling - it is illegal.

Materials which have been collected and sorted (e.g. plastics and paper) can be exported, but for the purpose of recycling, not for landfill or open incineration.

If there is a perceived risk of personal information on waste being exported and ending up in the wrong hands, then it makes little difference whether the waste goes in the 'rubbish' bin or into the recycling - either could be the start of the same journey where the information ends up in the wrong hands.

But the greater risk to people is with their bins at home. That risk is much greater than any once the waste has reached the waste disposal authority.

Brie

I'm lucky that we have a blue bin at work which goes directly to industrial shredding so often will take any bills etc there for disposal.  When I can't be asked to do that or, as in the last several months, am working exclusively from home I tend to tear things into 2/4/6/8 pieces ensuring the account numbers etc end up on different bits and put some in the recycling and some in the two general waste bins.  As the OH is a smoker I doubt that anyone will want to spend much time, if any, going through our general waste.