How to Dispose of Checkbooks

Many people still use checks, especially to pay household bills. However, it's important to keep them secure. Checks display your personal information and, if blank, can sometimes be used to draft heavy charges to your account that you may find difficult to reverse. Whether you are disposing of checks because of a change of personal information or you're closing the account, be sure to dispose of your checkbooks properly.

Things You'll Need

• Cross-cut shredder

Instructions

1. Set up the shredder according to the instruction manual that ships with the machine.

2. Tear the unused checks from the checkbook and run them through the shredder. Do not overload the shredder by feeding too many checks through at once.

3. Dispose of the paper shreds in the trash.

Tips & Warnings

• Cross-cut shredders offer more security than strip-cut shredders because they cut the paper in two directions.

• You may also burn the unused checkbooks if you are able to do so in your area.

• Many financial institutions offer check shredding services.

References

• American Express: What You Can Do to Prevent Fraud
• BB&T: Shredding Personal Documents and When to Dispose of Them