Many large and small business owners aren’t aware that the Federal Trade Commission’s Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA) Disposal Rule requires them to dispose of consumer information in a way that prevents anyone from reconstructing the data. Many state governments have also enacted new legislation to protect consumers’ personal information. A new study by information protection vendor Iron Mountain highlights reasons that companies will be paying closer attention to privacy laws. As a result, opportunities exist for document shredding businesses and manufacturers and retailers of document shredding hardware.

• Some companies believe the FTC is not enforcing its legislation, however the group recently fined an Illinois mortgage broker $50,000 for breach.
• About 1/3 of company owners have increased the budget devoted to handling document destruction.
• New legislation effective November 1, 2008 requires financial institutions to prove they have a program in place to prevent identity theft.

Discuss these trends with your clients and develop an ad campaign that both educates and sells.

[Source: Iron Mountain Press Release, July 7, 2008]