Blog | R4 Services | Chicago Shredding Destruction Services and Records Management - R4 Services

Documents You Should Shred But Probably Aren't

9/18/2018

Developing a document retention schedule is crucial to staying compliant with security best-practices and laws and regulations. By using a professional document shredding service such as R4 Services, you can rest assured knowing that state-of-the-art machinery will destroy every bit of information, converting mountains of paperwork into tiny bits of paper, while keeping you safe from liabilities. By thoroughly shredding outdated documents containing financial information, personal info (such as your SSN), any sort of account info, etc. you're protecting yourself and your business from identity theft, legal liabilities and other avoidable headaches. Even some documents, that you don't think should be shredded, should be! This includes junk mail and receipts.

There are many types of documents that all have extremely sensitive information on them that need to be periodically destroyed. But on the other hand, there are some documents that you should keep forever for legal reasons. This all sounds fine and dandy, but when you get right down to it, how do you know: should it stay or should it go?

Documents to Destroy

There are some documents that solely exist to provide personal info, but they can be disposed of after a certain length of time. These documents include:

Boarding passes (immediately)
Resumes/hiring documents (if no longer needed)
Shipping labels (immediately)
Bank statements (after 1 year)
Pay stubs (after 1 year)
Bills (after 1 year)
Undisputed, paid medical bills (after 1 year)
Sales receipts (immediately)
Paid utility bills and credit statements (immediately)
Expired warranties (immediately)
Tax receipts (after 7 years)
W-2s (after 7 years)

Documents to Keep

On the other hand, some documents, both personal and business, should be kept forever. Lock them up in a safe place so you can refer to them if you ever need to. These are documents with a lot of personal identity info that will stay relevant as long as you live.

Tax documents
Birth and death certificates
Pension plans
Business licenses
Property deeds (as long as you own it)
Mortgage documents
Social security cards/info
Vehicle titles (as long as you own it)
Loan documents
Insurance policies
IDs and passports
Wills, living wills, power of attorney documents
Marriage and divorce paperwork

Whether your business needs documents stored or shredded, R4 Services will provide you with unparalleled, discreet and confidential services for all of your document needs. Our state-of-the-art document and hard drive shredders allow us to destroy a wide variety of data mediums and our 24-hour secure vault services will keep your most sensitive information in-tact and available the next time you need it.

Document Management for Realtors

8/20/2018

If it's your job to find people their dream home, then there's no doubt that you go through mountains of paperwork every day. Storing files such as home contracts, legal forms, property deeds, purchase offers, repair agreements, agency relationship disclosures -- and that's barely even the tip of the iceberg. To top it all off, in order to stay compliant with various tax and other record keeping laws, realtors and real estate agents must keep copies of most documents for at least 5 years or even 10 years for some documents. Once you start to sell even a few homes, that proverbial iceberg really starts to manifest and it can sometimes feel like you're drowning in paperwork. But we won't let that iceberg sink your ship! It's crucial for realtors to have a reliable document management system by their side in order to make records storage easy, keep their records accessible and make it a breeze to stay compliant with all the rules and regulations that come with the territory.

Storing Your Real Estate Records

Selling homes isn't a walk in the park. Each property comes with its own mountain of paperwork to sift through, organize, update, sign and eventually store. This can take up a lot of...real estate in an office and most realtors don't have that kind of space. Rifling through cabinets full of papers and finding the right one(s) for the task at hand takes loads of time and hinders a realtor's ability to perform their job quickly and efficiently.

By scanning, imaging and indexing them and taking advantage of R4 Services' vault storage options, realtors' jobs just got a whole lot easier. We can store any type of physical document in our storage facility that is monitored 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Our scanning, imaging and indexing services will help you to digitize your important materials so you can securely access them online. Our web service allows you to quickly search, pull, edit and directly email/fax any document so you're not wasting precious time on bookkeeping. As an added bonus, it will declutter some your office -- a clear space for a clear mind.

Online Access to Your Realtor Documents

Once you scan your crucial documents into our web system, you'll have enhanced security and 24-hour access to any of your documents. Here are just a few perks of our online system:

Access your files remotely from any web browser.
Implement security features for all of your files including:
- Two-factor authentication
- Domain- and IP Address-based limitations
- SSL connection
- Optional VPN (Virtual Private Network) services
Perform your own data entry, both at the box and file level.
Request/retrieve boxes and files.
Request pickups and returns.
Create custom searches and queries using the integrated query builder (Boolean logic) and export results in seven different file formats for use at your own PC.
Process items for destruction.
Process items for permanent withdrawal.

Realtor Document Retention Schedule: Stay Compliant

After your office space is cleared out, you've got all your necessary files stored externally and you can access your documents from anywhere while on-the-go, you can finally forget about those mountains of paperwork, right? Right?! Sorry, wrong. While you may need to keep most documents in your possession for 5-10 years, that doesn't mean you need to keep them forever. In fact, keeping documents past their retention date can open you up to legal liabilities.
That's why we will work with your company to develop a fully comprehensive and compliant document retention schedule; and when it's time to finally purge those old docs, we've got you covered. Our document shredding services and state-of-the-art hard drive destruction services will let you confidentially dispose of virtually any type of document. We can destroy:

Hard Drives
Paper
X-Rays
Film
Monitors
Tapes
Disks of all sizes

All of these and more will be discreetly destroyed either at our facilities or yours -- whichever is more convenient for you.
So when it comes to your real estate business, stop settling for less. Let us take over the dirty work of storing and organizing your files so you can do what matters most: making people happy by finding their home. If you have any questions about any of our services, get in touch today!

Healthcare Document Management

7/30/2018

It's no secret that an efficient document management system is beneficial for any industry. But for some, it's not only the company's integrity that depends on that efficiency -- people's lives hang on the line. In the medical and healthcare fields, patient records, payment and insurance information, hospital procedures, policies and other data are some of the most important documents that contain both patients' private info and the ways in which the institution operates. That's why it's impossible to overstate the cruciality of a secure document management system that will maintain HIPAA compliance to protect your practice and your patients.

Proper document management takes a lot of time, effort and manpower/resource dedication. That's why we offer a wide variety of services that cover every aspect of document management so you don't have to go about it alone. From records storage and vault services to shredding and hard drive destruction, we can help you plan for your organizational needs.

HIPAA Compliance Through Document Destruction

HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, passed in 1996 to protect medical patient data. It ensures that the proper security measures are in place -- things like procedural, physical and network security. Violating HIPAA carries severe penalties that can cause a healthcare institution to be shut down, so it's extremely important to ensure compliance. R4 Services will work with your business to be certain that you've outlined a rigid and easy-to-follow records retention program.

Outdated patient records, payment information or insurance documents contain very personal, private information, so having them on-hand opens your organization up to legal liabilities. That's why we offer secure, safe and easy document shredding services and hard drive destruction. Our state-of-the-art destruction machinery are able to handle a variety of media types: paper, tapes of all sizes, disks, cartridges, x-rays, hard drives, monitors and film. You name it and we can destroy it. After each destruction session, we give you a certification that shows exactly what and how much was processed. We make it as easy as possible for you in 3 simple steps:

We install tamper-proof collection bins at your business
You insert the materials that need to be destroyed
We collect and securely transport the materials to our facility, where you can witness the destruction in-person or online

Increase Efficiency with Document Storage and Mobile Access

Every business lives and dies by their efficiency. And when people's lives hang in the balance, it's never more important to have all the information you need readily available. Our scanning and imaging services will take all of your old paper records and digitize them. We can then index them and store them in our secure online database so that you can access them 24/7 from any web browser. No more searching through file cabinets and wasting countless hours sorting through mountains of paperwork. We make it easy to search, find, view, print, fax and email every record you could possibly need in just seconds. Our online database is fully HIPAA compliant so you can enjoy improved workflow through mobile document access without worry.

At R4 Services we understand how much time and effort goes into remaining compliant with laws and regulations. Let us do the dirty work for you so you can allocate precious time and resources to more important things to your business. We're reliable, resourceful, responsive and reasonable; we'll work with you to find pricing within your budget and custom tailor a program to suit your needs. Whether you need to store your records offsite or you want periodic document purges, we're just a phone call away!

Help Sustain Your Nonprofit's Growth by Staying Organized

7/23/2018

There are over 1.5 million nonprofit organizations registered in the US, according to the National Center for Charitable Statistics. If you are part of a nonprofit organization, you're probably aware of some of the obstacles to be overcome that may not plague your for-profit counterparts. Whether you run a chamber of commerce, a charity organization, a social advocacy group, or any other type of nonprofit institution, chances are it's much harder to stay afloat because you rely on outsider passion for your cause in order to advance and positively affect your community.
Generating revenue, sustaining growth and upgrading software are some of the most major concerns for nonprofits in the modern era. All of these require time, manpower and money. That's why a reliable, resourceful, responsive and reasonable document management system will change the game by eliminating menial tasks and increasing efficiency.

Save Time and Money
Sure, every company wants to save time and money. But these two things are particularly important to nonprofits because these key elements are often too scarce in the nonprofit world. Dedicating resources to community outreach, pleasing donors, hosting fundraising events, maintaining a membership base, creating policy and more -- all while committing energy toward forwarding organizational goals -- take heavy tolls on the time and money department.
That's why having an effective document management system is so crucial for nonprofits. By scanning and indexing your most sensitive materials and having a secure, confidential way to store them, your organization will see positive impacts on workflow. R4 Services knows how important your time is. That's why we'll handle the menial groundwork so your staff can be freed up to pursue organizational goals without being bogged down by tedious banalities.

Technology Upgrades Are Feasible for Nonprofits
One of the largest problems that nonprofits face is outdated technology and infrastructure. Today's technology is growing faster than ever before and businesses are left to either adapt and overcome or die. It's a ruthless sink or swim environment and organizations can only last so long without implementing standard tech practices. Manual, paper-based processes and outdated software eat up a lot of manpower and resources that could be delegated to more important things. A lack of automation can also negatively affect the efficiency and accuracy of reporting, storage and compliance which can in turn affect growth and fundraising opportunities.
That's why R4 Services works with every type of organization -- big or small -- to find the most cost-effective way of upgrading the way you manage your files. We are dedicated to learning and understanding your requirements to provide flexible, finely tailored solutions so that you'll benefit from:

Improved efficiency
Secure, mobile file access from any web browser
Efficient and immediate access of your organization's business documents.

Custom searches and viewing options including zoom, pan and rotate. Notes, reminders and flags may be added to documents and saved before printing.
Direct fax capability
Direct email capability
Improved response time - improving customer service
Simultaneous access for multi-user, highly active document types
Fully HIPAA compliant

We take on the burden of managing and destroying files so you can concentrate on the things that matter most -- building meaningful relationships throughout the community and spreading awareness for your cause. At minimal cost, we ensure that you are able to run your business efficiently by offering a variety of document management services such as document vault storage, shredding and destruction services for all types of media, file indexing with 24-hour web access and scanning and imaging services. Upgrading your infrastructure isn't out of the picture. We'll work with you to make it as seamless and easy as possible so your staff is free to pursue organizational goals more efficiently and with increased vigor. Give us a call today if you're ready to improve your workflow.

Data Breach Statistics in the US

7/10/2018

It's no secret that as technology rapidly expands and digitalization takes over, so too do the methods of thieves and hackers. These days it seems like every week we hear about a large organization being hacked and customer data being compromised. But even though the news reports large breaches, smaller ones happen all the time that may not be as widely publicized. Although a large company like Google or Yahoo! can financially withstand the impact of a large-scale hack, it will more greatly affect a small business. It's important to be aware of how common data breaches are and to highlight some statistics to recognize the importance of proper data retention schedules and practicing frequent confidential document destruction. Here are some quick facts:

Since 2013, nearly 10 billion data records have been lost or stolen. Only 4% of those were deemed "secure breaches", meaning the stolen data was unusable due to security measures.
2017 was the biggest year in history (thus far) regarding data breaches. More than 7 million records were lost or stolen every day that year.
86% of the world's reported data breaches in 2017 took place in the US.
The average cost of a data breach in the US is $7.34 million.

10 Largest Data Breaches in History

Yahoo! (2014): 3 billion user accounts
Adult Friend Finder (2016): 412 million user accounts
eBay (2014): 145 million user accounts compromised
Equifax (2017): 143 million people's social security numbers, driver's licenses, addresses and credit cards were exposed
Heartland Payment Systems (2008): 134 million credit cards exposed
Target (2013): Credit card info and contact info of 110 million customers compromised
TJX Companies (2006): 94 million credit cards stolen
Uber (2016): Personal info of 57 million users and 600,000 drivers exposed
JP Morgan Chase (2014): 76 million households and 7 million small businesses had their personal info stolen
Sony's Playstation Network (2011): 77 million PSN users had their account details stolen/compromised

Stay Eco-Friendly By Recycling Your Electronics

6/20/2018

The prevalence and rapid evolution of technology has benefited us immeasurably over the past few decades. But with new tech come new devices; and with new devices comes waste. Such progress of technology has lead to quicker device obsoletion, sometimes taking effect even within a couple years of a device's release. Think about it -- how often do new phone models come out? Almost yearly. This means that each year, millions, of phones, computers, and general electronics are tossed into the trash bin. This is called e-waste. Somewhere between 20-50 million metric tons of e-waste are disposed worldwide each year. It also accounts for over 2% of America's landfills, but it equals 70% of our overall toxic waste.

Improper disposal of electronics presents quite a large hazard for our environment. In fact, the reason our e-waste occupies such a high percentage of toxic waste is because old electronics contain toxic materials such as mercury and lead, which can seep into the ground and water sources. The EPA covers the topic of e-waste extensively here.

R4 Services takes all aspects of secure document destruction seriously. We understand that old electronics not only carry sensitive information, but they post a risk for the environment. That's why we will properly dispose of your business' electronics for you while maintaining confidentiality and eco-friendliness. Simply tossing your old devices into the trash not only poses risk for the environment, it opens you up to security breaches and other types of identity theft. We are equipped with state-of-the-art media shredders to securely destroy and recycle electronics of any medium including:

tapes of all sizes
disks
cartridges
x-rays
hard drives
monitors
film and more!

So the next time you're upgrading your computer systems or staying compliant by purging old data, don't open yourself up to unnecessary security risks. R4 Services will come to your place of business to securely transport, destroy and recycle all of your old data systems.

Why You Should Shred Your Hard Drives

6/6/2018

The majority of information in today's world is stored on hard drives and on servers. Experts suppose that an estimated 600 exabytes of data exists. Don't know what an exabyte is? That's okay, we did the math for you. Six hundred exabytes is the equivalent of 600 BILLION gigabytes. That's a lot of information; and when you consider that 52% of digital information is stored on hard disk drives, you have to wonder just how much of that data is improperly disposed of.

As technology advances every day, security methods try to keep up to maintain data integrity. It's no secret that data breaches happen -- it's in the news constantly these days. Improper disposal of large quantities of information is a serious risk and should not be taken lightly. It comes with the territory of running a business. Hard drives, film, and optical storage devices have revolutionized the ways we store and access information. Old devices often need to be replaced and/or fully destroyed because wiping information from them isn't as simple as clicking 'delete' on your keyboard. You can't just toss your hard drives into the garbage can and call it a day -- that's how data breaches happen. You need experts to come in to securely and properly dispose of your sensitive information.

If anyone understands the security risks that come with running a successful business, it's R4 Services. We're dedicated to maintaining unrivaled expertise in all facets of data storage and disposal. That's why we stay up-to-date on industry standards when it comes to protecting your most sensitive information. Let us help you securely destroy old or unneeded sensitive data with our brand-new, state-of-the-art hard drive shredder. It's easy as 1, 2, 3:

We'll come and collect material to be shredded and securely transport it for disposal. An itemized receipt of the materials received will be issued at the time of collection. If you prefer, you may bring the materials to our facility yourself.
We confidentially shred the material under the supervision of insured employees.
We'll issue a Certificate of Destruction upon completion of the destruction process.

It's that simple. Our flexible data destruction program will work with your business to ensure your information destruction is completely compliant with your requirements. Security is our top priority, which is why we have 24/7/365 closed circuit surveillance and monitored doors. You may also witness the destruction service in action either from your computer screen or in person at our facility.

Don't fall victim to the hundreds of security breaches that happen each year. Prioritize the safety of your sensitive information -- let us know what your requirements are. We're here to help!

What You Need To Know About GDPR

5/14/2018

GDPR R4 Services

The new EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) kick in on May 25. While you may be thinking, "I'm a US business, this won't affect me," you would be wrong. While, indeed, the laws are being passed in the EU, tech companies and global firms are scrambling to reach compliance requirements -- the new laws apply to any company that has customers residing in the EU. You may have recently gotten notification emails from major global players, but it's not just the Googles and Facebooks of the world that need to be aware. You do, too. In fact, it's more beneficial for you to start making adjustments now, if you haven't already -- the hefty fines that come with violating GDPR would be a drop in the bucket to a major firm like Google, but they could easily sink a small business. Here's everything you need to know.

What is GDPR?
GDPR stands for General Data Protection Regulation, a new set of data privacy laws that goes into effect on May 25, 2018 throughout the EU. It aims to allow EU citizens to have more control over their private data by forcing companies to be more transparent about what information they collect, what they do with it and implement data collection consent forms. This means that companies may no longer have vaguely-worded Terms of Service agreements, they must recognize new forms of data, and customers must opt in to allow companies to collect their data.

Whom does it affect?
GDPR affects every business within the EU as well as those that do business in it. So, for example, if your business is located in the US but you have customers in the EU, you must still comply with GDPR for that market. This is why major companies throughout the US and abroad have been double and triple checking that they're ready.

What are some essential things to know?
You can visit the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to see a full list of what to expect and how to prepare, but here are some of the major takeaways:

Beefing up security is a must since data breaches will be taken much more seriously. Companies that experience a data breach must report it to the ICO within 72 hours.
"Personal data" has been redefined to include photos, bank details, social media names and posts, medical information and IP addresses.
More detailed descriptions regarding the purpose of data collection must be explained to customers.
Customers are now allowed to ask companies for access to their collected data, and companies must comply. Customers are also allowed to tell companies to completely erase all data collected on them.

What are the GDPR penalties?
Punishments are very severe, which is why small businesses must be aware and prepared. Any organization in violation of GDPR laws will be fined $24.6 million OR 4% of their annual global turnover -- whichever is bigger.

The stakes have never been higher when it comes to ensuring data protection compliance. There are sure to be companies caught in the proverbial net, facing penalty during this transition; don't be one of them! R4 Services specializes in data protection and file destruction to ensure compliance. We have a brand-new state-of-the-art hard drive shredder as well as bulk paper shredding services, available both onsite and off, for your business. If you have customers in the EU, it's imperative to comply with the new privacy regulations, so give us a call to securely destroy unnecessary files. Even if you don't have customers in the EU, it's not hard to imagine that similar laws may make their way to the US soon, so get informed!

Preventing Data Breaches

4/23/2018

R4 Services Preventing Data Breaches

It seems like we hear about large-scale data breaches in the news on an all-too-frequent basis. Yahoo! had a breach just a few years ago that compromised 3 billion users' accounts, eBay had one around the same time that compromised over 140 million users and the recent Equifax hacking scandal led to millions of people's most sensitive information being stolen and forced resignations from multiple executives. And those are only the large, publicized ones. In fact, there were over 1,500 breaches in the year 2017 alone.

Data breaches are no joke and proper security, risk assessment and retention schedules should be taken seriously. Many businesses rely on their reputation and integrity to keep customers' trust and keep them coming back. One data breach is all it takes to ruin a small business, so it's of utmost importance to ensure that your retention schedule protocol is in place and followed. That's why R4 Services offers confidential, secure document destruction and shredding services. We understand that today's world produces and stores more information than ever before -- whether it's on paper, tape, hard drives, x-rays, film, etc -- which is why our facilities are well-equipped to handle any type of media destruction. We understand the importance of secure document disposal, so we will help you develop and maintain a retention schedule that works best with you and lets you maintain compliant. R4 Services' customized destruction plan includes:

Installed locked, tamper-proof containers at your location for disposal of all sensitive materials.
Periodic collection of said materials to be shredded and securely transported for disposal. A receipt of items received will be issued at the time of collection.
Confidentially shredding the material under the supervision of insured employees.
We then bale and ship the destroyed material to be recycled into new, usable products.
A Certificate of Destruction upon completion of the destruction process is then issued.

You may be tempted to throw out or store old hard drives, film or paper. But if confidential data gets into the wrong hands it can lead to lost customers and loss of revenue. If you’re not using a secure destruction method, your business is at risk. R4 Services will help you maintain compliance through our state-of-the-art document destruction services. Give us a call today to find out more.

Access Your Documents Remotely

4/6/2018

R4 Services

Today's business world is fast, efficient and mobile. In order to maximize your productivity, you need to be available and able to access necessary data at all times, even on-the-go. Perhaps you need updated blueprints while on a job site. Or you need to access and review case notes at the courthouse. Maybe auditors need old documents you didn't think you'd need. Whatever the case may be, situations arise spontaneously and secure remote web access might make or break any given task. That's why R4 Services makes your documents accessible 24/7 via VCKweb -- an online records management software.

Because it is a web-based solution, clients using VCKweb will appreciate the ability to conduct business tasks from anywhere, at any time. With its easy-to-use browser interface, clients can:

Perform data entry at the box and file level.
Request/retrieve boxes or files.
Perform custom searches and queries.
Process items for destruction.
Process items for permanent withdrawal.
Check status of items in the R4 records center.
Force fields of entry
Order empty cartons

VCKweb is also easily accessible from a Macintosh, PC, or any other computer platform equipped with a web browser.

It's guaranteed to keep your most sensitive information digitally secure and away from unwanted eyes. Some of the security features include:

Domain and IP-based security, limiting access to VCKweb to a specified IP address or domain.
Optional two-factor authentication requiring two sets of sequential logins.
Optional SSL deployment to create a secure connection between the client and host server, providing an extra independent layer of security.

Accessing your information remotely, safely and securely has never been easier. Give R4 a call today to see how we can improve your business' efficiency.