Selling Old Office Equipment? How to Eliminate the Risk

Are you frustrated with an aged laptop or PC? Perhaps, the screen flickers. Maybe, the hard drive sounds like it’s grinding coffee beans.

Does your printer make noise and produce only unreadable documents? If so, it’s time to upgrade office equipment. Accordingly, you will be able to free up some valuable space for new technologies.

Thus, you’ve decided to post an ad. Likely, you’re seeking an easy sale. Possibly, you are looking to make a donation. Sure, you might get lucky and quickly find a new home for your aging machines.

Yet, keep in mind, there is significant risk involved. Consider printers, copiers, hard drives, old fax machines, and other devices. They are filled with sensitive information. Thus, they’re a prime target for thieves.

Therefore, it’s up to you to responsibly manage this data. Here are some things you should know:

Hard Drives Are Everywhere

Today, crops of printers and copiers have built-in hard drives like your computer. Actually, these hard drives work in the same way. Hence, they initiate the device’s operating system and settings. Additionally, they allow for easy operation.

Also, the hard drives store copies of all documents. That means all images, printed documents, faxes, or other communications are on the drive. Thus, they’re vulnerable to theft.

There’s something that makes matters worse. It’s that printers and copiers have virtually no security measures in place. Here are some examples:

• Often, a small Florida company’s used printer is packed with copies of pay stubs, employee information, social security numbers, and bank account numbers.
• A medical clinic’s printers contain untold volumes of private patient records. These are ripe for identity theft.
• Personal copiers and printers are no less vulnerable. Checking and credit card account information is there for the taking.

Plan Ahead to Protect Yourself

Likely, you’ve heard that destroying data is solely a matter of erasing a hard drive. In truth, that doesn’t work. Today, specific software is readily available. It recovers “deleted” information.

Maybe, all you do with a printer is to create and send birthday cards to relatives. In that case, their addresses and personal information remains on the hard drive.

Of course, you have lots of Data on your Florida office equipment. Thus, it is only truly erased from existence in one way. It’s by destroying the hard drive through a reliable shredding service.

They will crush the drive. One way is by plunging a hole through the disks. Alternately, they cut the drive into small pieces, similar to paper shredding.

Both methods render sensitive data unrecoverable.