There is a risk of identity theft when using a copier, according to The Seattle Times, “Newer photocopiers’ disk drives present risk of identity theft“. The new digital copiers pose a risk to consumers because they can retain the image scanned on a disk drive. When a document is copied, its image is scanned and can be stored on the disk drive. Potentially, this presents a threat to personal information, especially during the busy tax season when people are making copies of their tax returns before filing them. The library, your office, copy shops or any other public venue for making copies could put your information at risk. This is exactly the type of information that identity thieves are looking for and what you need to protect from falling into the wrong hands.
So what can you do to protect yourself?
1. Ask your tax preparer or the copy shop if the copiers they use have any type of security encryption device installed. Some, but not all, copier manufacturers are including this type of security with their digital copiers.
2. Be careful where you make a copy of sensitive personal information such as your tax return or any other document which contains financial data. The library, your office, or even the local copy shop may not be secure enough.
3. Use your home printer/copier if you have one. If ever I’ve seen an argument for buying a home copier, this would have to be the top one.
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doing a simply thing as “clear” on the copier you used after you use it good too.