Want to win the Fellowes’ P-8C Shredder featured above? All you need to do is read the blog post below and leave a comment! In collaboration with Fellowes, Inc. and the Identity Theft Resources Center, NSCS will award a free shredder to one lucky reader who comments on the post!
There are some things you should never shred. Things like your masterpiece from third grade art class or a winning lottery ticket.
There are things you should sometimes shred. Things like a bad test or a birthday card from that aunt-who-isn’t-really-an-aunt.
Then there are things you should always shred. Things like account numbers, bank statements, old photo IDs and credit cards and checks–yes, even the ones you write VOID across in nice, big letters.
As college students, we often think we have nothing to offer identity thieves, so why would they even bother? Have you seen the black abyss that is my checking account?
But identity thieves can open credit cards in your name and do other bad things that will ruin your credit score, cost you thousands, and just generally wreak havoc on your life.
Danger is lurking in computer labs, your mailbox, local restaurants and your dorm room. That’s right: even in your dorm room. Keep sensitive documents locked up tight. It’s not that you can’t trust your roommate–although you may beg to differ–but you never know who your roommate will let in your room or who will just come on their own when they hear how awesome you are and want to check it out for themselves.
If you forget to log off of the computer you used in the lab, chances are you forgot to log out of your e-mail account, too. And do you know what is in your e-mail account? Bank statements. Credit card offers. Your name. Address. You get the picture.
The thing is, we all know the kinds of things we should shred. But do we do it? No. And do you know why? Because shredders are huge and loud and ugly. The good news is that Fellowes shredders are black, sleek, and look like something your next coffee might be coming out of.
The Fellowes shredder can sit on your desk, so you can shred with one hand while working on that essay due at midnight with the other. And the best part? This is not your mother’s shredder. It shreds documents into not 1, not 20, but into about 399 pieces. That’s more days than there are in a year! More hours there are in a day! More money than you could spend at Starbucks! (That last one might not be true.)
But, wait! There’s more! It can also handle credit cards, staples and paperclips that your sleep-deprived college student brain might otherwise forget to remove.
Instead of paying the $63.99 price tag–which, let’s admit, is less than that Xbox game or new pair of shoes we can somehow manage to afford–for a Fellowes shredder, you can win one! Yes, that means free. A college student’s favorite word. All you have to do is be your charming self and comment on this blog post in order to be entered into the giveaway. I’ll bet you never thought you could get so excited about a shredder.
Shay Quigley is a junior at East Carolina University majoring in public relations and media studies. She has been a member of NSCS since 2010, and is currently a Social Media Ambassador for NSCS, making it her mission to inform everyone that geek is chic. When she is not studying or reading, Shay is most likely eating carrots, pretending she is a ninja, and randomly scribbling down poetry and graphic design ideas. Follow her on Twitter @shayquig.