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There are many different reasons to hire a New York City paper shredding service company. Millions of Americans suffer from identity theft every year. Morally, most companies want to prevent that kind of problem from happening to their customers. Businesses should be aware that there are many laws requiring them to safeguard the personal and confidential information of their employees, customers and clients. In addition to the ethical and legal requirements for properly destroying personal information, there are also important financial reasons to properly destroy the information since a lawsuit could cost your company a lot of money and a lot of lost business due to bad press.
It Is the Law
There are many different laws that regulate the destruction of confidential information and it can be confusing, time consuming and expensive to make sure that you are in compliance with each and every one that applies to your business. However, if you hire a reputable NYC secure document shredding company then that company will make sure that you are in compliance with destruction elements of all of the applicable laws and they can often do that for less than you can in-house.
One of the most important federal laws that regulates the destruction of information is the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA). FACTA requires that any business (or individual) that collects personal consumer information take reasonable care to protect against unauthorized access to that information. FACTA further requires that all personal consumer information be destroyed before being discarded. Violations of FACTA can result in significant fines for each and every record maintained by the company that is not in compliance with the terms of the law.
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For businesses that maintain many consumer records these fines can add up quickly and can be a significant burden.
Another important law pertains specifically to the healthcare industry. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires healthcare providers and health insurance companies to maintain the confidentiality of health records and properly destroy the records before discarding them. There are significant civil and criminal penalties for noncompliance with this Act. Fines range from a nominal $100 to $250,000 and ten years imprisonment for the most egregious violations of the Act.
A third law pertaining to the protection of personally identifiable information is the Gramm Leach Bliley Act which requires all financial institutions to protect the confidential information of their customers and clients. The Gramm Leach Bliley Act carries significant financial penalties for financial institutions that do not comply with the terms of the Act. These penalties apply whether or not actual harm has occurred as a result of the institution’s noncompliance.
All of these laws are important. They help protect innocent people from the very real and significant harm that can occur if their personal information falls into the wrong hands. However, it is important to remember that every business also has an ethical obligation to protect its customers and clients. In order to effectively protect your business and your customers, think about hiring a professional Manhattan document shredding company to ensure that the work is done right.
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