Identity Theft Paranoia
"Is it okay to put return address labels through the paper shredder? Or will the adhesive cause trouble?"

"Uh, why would you shred return address labels?" I asked.

"Well, I'm worried about identity theft."

I won't say who recently asked me this question, but it is a fine example of the paranoia spawned by the media surrounding the crime of the new millennium, identity theft. They say people are going through garbage cans to get personal information, and the next thing you know, someone is afraid to casually toss out anything so "personal" as an address.

I replied, "If all they needed was an address to steal your identity, they would use the phone book!"

Labels: crime

- posted by David Johnsen @ 8:47 PM