Fellowes Shredder Review

Identity fraud is something that could affect anyone, fraudsters don't discriminate and target both businesses and individuals. Having your identity stolen isn't just an inconvenience, it can be devastating. Research shows that 24% of UK citizens have been a victim of identity fraud, this is surprisingly the highest in Europe and a further 75% have been exposed to scams used by identity fraudsters. I would like to think myself quite aware of scammers and the tricks that they use online, I protect my passwords, I don't send my details to suspicious looking emails (and I must get about 100 a week many of which say I've won the lottery or been left millions of pounds - I wish or the ones supposedly from the banks saying my account is suspended even though I don't bank with them) and I'd also like to think that I am the same when it comes to protecting my identity in everyday circumstances.

With the cases of identity fraud crimes on the increase paper shredders have become something of a necessary home appliance. A shredder is a great way to dispose of household documents that may expose a families personal information including addresses and bank details. A shredder is a great way to protect against fraud, it takes next to no time at all if you keep on top of shredding unwanted documents and personal information. The shredder will also shred debit and credit cards, not just paper. I can shred up to 11 sheets of paper at once. There is no need to take out paper clips or staples either as they can be shredded too.

With the increasing prevalence of shredders in the home, it’s important for people to protect more than just their identity.  Households with children and pets need to consider the safety of all of their home appliances, including paper shredders. We were sent a DS1 Shredder from Fellowes to review, it features a patented SafeSense™ technology that ensures the safety of the user by automatically disabling the shredder when sensing hands or pets are too close to the paper feed.  An electronic sensor surrounds the shredder’s paper entry and shuts down the machine immediately when it comes in contact with the energy field created by humans and larger pets. This is great for us with three small children and 2 nosy boxer dogs.

I really like how user-friendly this particular shredder is, it features a pedal bin for easy waste disposal and it holds up to 18 litres of paper thanks to its large bin, this means you can shred more paper between empties.

The shredder uses has a cross cutting style which makes it more difficult to reconstruct documents. It has a cut size of 3.9 x 35 mm.

Fellowes Motto is "Don't Let It Be You" you can find out more here about how to keep your identity safe here. http://www.stop-idfraud.co.uk/support/. Luckily I have never been a victim of Identity theft and hopefully never will. Using a shredder will hopefully help keep it this way.