{"id":20681,"date":"2026-02-09T16:36:36","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T16:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.restore.co.uk\/datashred\/?p=20681"},"modified":"2026-02-09T16:36:36","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T16:36:36","slug":"bin-raiders-make-them-a-lost-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.restore.co.uk\/datashred\/bin-raiders-make-them-a-lost-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Bin raiders \u2013 make them a lost art!"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
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Responses to a Sunday broadsheet\u2019s reader question about shredding sensitive documents at home reveal the need for greater awareness of just how determined some ID fraudsters (\u2018bin raiders\u2019) are to make your life a misery. <\/h2>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The Guardian\u2019s long-running Notes and Queries section posted a question on Sunday, 25 January. The reader was asking whether they should heed their children, who believe that digital scamming is where the world of data theft is at, or heed their gut instinct that makes them uneasy about throwing sensitive, personalised documentation into their household waste streams. <\/p>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t

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To shred, or not to shred? That is their question.<\/h2>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Below-the-line reactions to this piece ranged from accusations of paranoia (\u201cnobody goes through bins these days\u201d, and \u201cshredding is well past its sell-by date\u201d), to praise for taking personal responsibility (\u201cwhichever paperwork is to be binned shall be shredded twice, stamped on, stirred up with water and wallpaper paste, and eaten\u201d \u2013 not a serious suggestion, we think!), to lengthy disposal methods such as chopping up defunct banking cards and depositing each fragment in a separate bin. There were also plenty of arcane suggestions for how to make bin raiders think twice about rifling through waste bags, from scissoring paper into strips, wetting it and moulding it into tiny balls, to dousing documents with bleach or HP sauce, or placing torn up paper in \u201cthe stinky used cat litter\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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In fact, the reader\u2019s gut instinct is right.<\/h2>\n

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It turns out that paper soaked in bin juice is not a deterrent where scams are concerned; people will do anything for ill-gotten gains, and there is much to gain.<\/p>\n

While digital ID theft is huge, it doesn\u2019t mean that paper fraud has exited stage left. Far from it. Figures from 2024 (Source: Cifas) show that an estimated 20,000 individuals in the UK had their identities stolen from personal information they had thrown into the household waste, and those 20,000 represent the tip of the iceberg of the fact that most household waste contains at least one item that could be used by bin raiders to steal your life.<\/p>\n<\/section>\r\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\r\n

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Rich pickings in the rubbish<\/h2>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

It also turns out that even with what we might regard as basic information, such as name, date of birth and current or previous addresses, is enough to get the fraud ball rolling.<\/p>\n

Juicier high-risk titbits such as NHS or NI numbers, medical information, pre-approved credit offers, bank and credit card statements, letters from HMRC and documents bearing a signature \u2013 astoundingly, these are all regularly thrown away in household waste. Whether in the paper and plastics recycling streams or in a general waste black bag, these data are vulnerable to bin raiders and can be used to inflict wide-reaching damage on your official identity.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/section>\n\n\r\n

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Empathy and imagination<\/p>\n

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Twenty thousand may not sound like very many people robbed of their ID on an annual basis, but step back and imagine if that were you. You might not be able to access your bank accounts even while watching them empty, get treatment through the NHS or receive state benefits, drive or travel freely or make financial plans and applications.<\/p>\n

In short, someone else impersonates you with the information they\u2019ve stolen from your bin. The hassle and stress factors of trying to restore your identity? Well, those perhaps do not need so much imagination.<\/p>\n<\/section>\r\n\n\n\r\n\r\n

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What\u2019s the solution? <\/h2><\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t

Don\u2019t feed the bin raiders!<\/p>\n

The Information Commissioner\u2019s Office (ICO) recommends that all<\/u> sensitive information at home should be shredded and disposed of professionally, that is, not chucked in recycling or general waste streams.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what Richard Jones, one of Restore Datashred\u2019s experienced and dedicated Area Managers, says about using a home shredder:<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t

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I know plenty of people who think that using a small home shredder is the best solution to protect their data but they don\u2019t realise that strip shredded paper can be, and is, pieced back together and, using AI, scanned by bin raiders and scammers who can then use that recovered information to cause havoc in your life. It\u2019s easy to think that this home security feature is enough, but it appears these guys are always one step ahead.<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t
Richard Jones, Area Sales Manager<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t
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Richard recommends the following:<\/h2>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t
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