How to recycle your old computer safely to protect against fraud
Which? Computing magazine warns that the only way you can stop criminal fraudsters stealing data from second hand computers is by destroying the hard drive. People need to be aware that even if they have wiped the data from their machines before they sell them to auction sites and rubbish tips, the files still remain on the hard drive and could contain vital information such as bank details and other personal information that fraudsters can abuse to steal their identity.
To back up their statement, the magazine bought eight computers from eBay and managed to recover each computers “deleted” files using sufficient equipment that’s widely available to the public, making them able to access the computer’s hard drive, resulting in a total 22,000 files being easily recovered. This proves that normal deletion is insufficient. The magazine also claimed that PC’s contain more valuable personal information of their user than ever before as people are increasingly shopping online, taking digital photos and using social media. All this information can legitimately hand over your identity to fraudsters.
Although these sophisticated tools to access the hard drive can be extremely useful in some situations, it can be catastrophic if the information falls into the wrong hands.
Manchester shredding is the first company in the UK to offer a hybrid service where clients can destroy hard drives and paper documents at the same time. All jobs are undertaken on site at our clients premises.
