This year, get "obsessed with shredding"

As head of Boston-based IDTheftSecurity.com, Robert Siciliano is tuned in to how a criminal can find bits of information and create a profile that will let him or her get a credit card or loan in someone else's name. (JOSH REYNOLDS FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE)

Robert Siciliano knows all the ways a wayward piece of personal information discarded in the trash could lead to a stolen identity.

As a personal security consultant and chief executive of the Boston-based IDTheftSecurity.com Inc., he's tuned in to how a criminal mind squirrels away bits of information to make enough of a profile to take out a credit card or loan in someone else's name. And now, as people sort through reams of personal financial information during tax season, he has a word of advice: Shred.

"I would recommend that everyone have a shredder, plain and simple," he said. People shouldn't just shred during tax season, but rather Siciliano recommends shredding early and often. "You want to become obsessed with shredding."

In Massachusetts, 4,292 people reported being victims of identity theft last year, according to Federal Trade Commission figures released this month. That's an increase of almost 5 percent from 4,102 victims in 2006.

One of the keys to staying out of those ranks, said Siciliano, is to limit the amount of personal information thieves can track down. He recommends shredding everything from the dog's veterinary prescription bottle to used airplane boarding passes to the inserts inside of catalogs. All of it has small bits of information that can lead would-be-thieves to more information with a few phone calls.

But it's important to find the right equipment to shred sensitive information. Although Siciliano uses a strip-cut shredder that cuts paper into thin strips, he said cross-cut shredders that turn documents into confetti generally create more difficult puzzles for thieves.

He also said buyers should look for machines that cut more than paper. CDs, prescription drug bottles, expired credit cards, even name tags from conventions need to be cut up, he said.

Then consider how much material needs to be shredded and how often. Good machines, he said, can handle at least 24 sheets at a time and eat through them in about a minute.

Prices for shredders range from $19 to nearly $5,000. But expect to pay between $80 and $120 for home use, he said.

At one point, he said, he burned through about one shredder every three months when he bought cheaper models. Then he invested in a heavy-duty machine that has lasted.

"Anything under 80 bucks probably isn't going to be worth your time and effort," Siciliano said.

For those who don't want to buy their own machine, consider hiring a shredding company to do the work. But Siciliano cautions that people should make sure the National Association for Information Destruction has certified the company and that you can watch your documents get eaten up.

Still, even shredders might not stop thieves. Last spring, German scientists announced they are able to reconstruct shredded files from East Germany's Stasi police with a machine called the E-Puzzler that can scan thousands of torn and clipped pieces, then "unshred" them.

But Siciliano says shredding is still a good first step that might slow down a would-be thief.

"If someone wants your information bad enough, they are going to get it," he said. "Shredding is one layer of security. It's not the only thing you should do to protect your identity."