Computer recycling company now shreds hard drives to prevent identity theft

Posted by Caitlin on September 12th, 2008

James and Phil Saraiva used to run a computer recycling operation in Somerville, Massachusetts. Over the past year and half, though, they've shifted their focus to the destruction of hard drives. Their company, now called Corporate Destruction Solutions Inc, along with others in the "metal-shredding business" have benefited from overwhelming concern about data theft. The Saraiva brothers began shredding hard drives instead of merely recycling computers when one customer was reluctant to part with his old hard drives, citing concerns about data theft. As more data thefts are reported, demand for these types of services has grown considerably. Now, James Saravia drives a small white truck that contains a metal shredding machine. Corporate Destruction Solutions charges $10 per hard drive and gives customers a certificate as proof that the hard drive has been destroyed.

Destroying old hard drives is certainly the logical next step after shredding sensitive documents. To learn more about how to avoid becoming a victim of identity theft, see our reviews and comparison of identity theft protection services.