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Properly Destroy A Credit Card
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Do you know why credit cards have an expiration date? In the beginning, it was because a credit card had a limited useful lifespan. After a few years, the magnetic stripe on the back would either get demagnetized or damaged so much that it was unreadable.
It wasn’t until later that the expiration date was used as a security feature. For many years, you could continue to use expired credit cards because the stripe was fine and the expiration date wasn’t used for verification.
So what were you to do with an expired card? You’d have to destroy it of course. In our age of identity theft and fraud, only a fool would throw a credit card into the trash without cutting it up first. However, with the economy the way it is and the value of credit card numbers going up, it’s important to properly destroy a credit card.
There are two crucial parts of a credit card – information embossed on the front of the card and the information encoded in the magnetic strip on the back of the card. Not surprisingly, they contain the same information and are merely displayed differently to the typical “reader.” When you want to destroy a card, it’s important to destroy both sources of information and this article will explain how.
Destruction
The best way to destroy a credit card, though ecologically unfriendly, is to burn it. Credit cards are made primarily of plastic, polyvinyl chloride acetate (PVCA), and burning the stuff isn’t good for the environment or you. It also contains all manner of dyes, inks, holograms, metal, etc.
One could argue whether it’s better for plastic to be burned into toxins in the air or dumped into the ground where the toxins can leech out, we’ll just skip that debate!
If you aren’t going to burn it, the next best solution is to disable the magnetic strip and cut it up.
Disabling Magnetic Strip
Disabling the magnetic strip is fairly easy. Grab the strongest refrigerator magnet you have and rub it along the magnetic strip. Chances are the magnet will destroy the data on the strip. If you’re concerned that the magnet isn’t strong enough, let me assure you that cutting it up will probably be enough to mess it up anyway.
Disabling RFID/Smart Chips
If your credit card has RFID or a smart chip, you can destroy it by cutting it up or you can give it a good smash with a hammer beforehand. They need to be intact to be operational so the act of cutting it up will destroy it.
Cutting/Shredding the Card
The next best way is to shred it. Unless your shredder has a special card shredder, I’d recommend against using a shredder because the teeth aren’t designed for the more rigid plastic of a credit card. My card destruction strategy is to cut each set of four numbers into six pieces. Here’s a picture of the Visa Black Card with red lines indicating where I cut:
The set of cuts at the top of the card are designed to dice up the magnetic stripe. The cuts at the bottom of the card are designed to cut up the numbers into the six pieces I alluded to earlier. For the middle area, I take that piece afterwards, flip it over, and cut it so my signature is illegible and the CVV number (the three digit number) is destroyed.
Disposal
Now that you have the pile of plastic pieces, separate it into two or three piles and throw them in separate garbage bags. If you do that, it’s extremely unlikely a thief will be able to put it back together again. Even if they were to get all the pieces, they’re more likely to go after easier targets.
This may seem like a lot of work but when you actually do it, you’ll find it takes less than a minute. Recovering your identity and dealing with credit card fraud takes much longer.
(Photo: baptistefranchina)
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Man, sweet picture! Until I read this article, I didn’t realize that I might not be doing enough. I just cut once along the middle of the strip and then through the numbers as well. Then I think we cut the remaining 3 long strands in half. If I’m being honest, I think we dumped it in the same bag, too.
Do you really cut it that many times?
Yep, and I run a magnet from my whiteboard across the magnetic trip on the back (I don’t know if it’s strong enough but it can’t hurt!). I may not cut it quite as many times as the picture but I definitely cut the numbers that way and make at least two horizontal cuts across the magnetic strip. It really only takes like thirty seconds when you sit down to do it. It looks like a lot but it’s really not.
I used to just cut them up into dozens of tiny crisscrossing cuts and then dump them into multiple garbage bags. Then I got a nice cross-cut shredder that also handles credit cards and CDs, though I haven’t had an expired credit card since then to really try it out (though I did run my expired driver’s license through it and it worked great)
Did you know you can recycle CDs?
I just cut mine by hand too, making sure that the name, numbers, and strip are destroyed. I admit I get paranoid so most of the times they end up in tiny, tiny pieces.
The Economist said last week that the value of credit card numbers is going down because there are so many available. They are now going for as little as 50 cents each.
To further foil the dastards fishing in your trash, throw out the pieces over several weeks (or months if you have monthly pickup). As an alternative, throw some pieces away in random trash cans (relatives, friends, work, etc).
I cut mine into four pieces (number groups), their away three and keep one, which I dispose of a few weeks later.
I haven’t started doing it yet (no expired cards in a while), but I plan on shredding the cards. Multiple times, if possible. Then separating the shreds into different trash cans on different days.
I had a friend that had her identity stolen. Like Jim said, you’ll only spend a minute or two to destroy the card. It’ll take weeks or months trying to get your identity fully back.
Good point on credit cards, but what do you do with paper work?
All my experiences with shredders from Staples etc have been disappointing. The damn things don’t have enough oomph to shred more than a 5-6 sheets of paper at once and then they crap out after a mere 200-300 sheets.
I have burned thru 3 shredders this way in the last 2 years, each one more expensive that its predecessor (in the dumb assumption that paying more would buy me quality), all with a security level that was not really satisfying (nothing some patient criminal couldn’t piece together).
I am loath to buy another one.
I don’t have a full fire place (just one of those silly gas ones), but I do have a gas grill. Maybe I should buy a steel box into which I can stuff the paper, seal the box semi-airtight and then leave on the grill on high for a couple hours. This way it will turn into leafy charcoal with little smoke development (burning it outright would piss of neighbors and fire dept). Then give the charcoal a stir with a stick to break-up the physical structure and then chuck in the trash.
I can already hear my wife’s eyes rolling.
You guys have a better suggestion?
Yeah my shredder has been having problems too lately, I use WD-40 on it but I can’t do more than a page or two. I don’t really know what the suggestion is… sometimes, when it’s a lot of paper to shred, I burn it in our fireplace (I’ve only done this once but it was like 400 pages of old credit card and cell phone statements).
Just call me Fawn Hall. I love to shred because I am not paperless w/my bills and statements.
I destroy regular paper shredders quite easily.
I plunked down about $200 for a waist high *continuous* shredder that takes 7 sheets at a time. ‘Tis teh aw3s0m3. It’s the first shredder that I have overheated, but not broken in the 2 years I’ve had it. Most others aren’t worth a damn.
This shredder is bigger than a college dorm fridge, but worth it because it will shred a credit card and whole envelopes of crap without you having to tear stuff apart.
FYI – Burning ink can be hazardous to your health and the environment because many laser printer inks are actually a form a plastic. I wouldn’t do that.
What is the make and model?
Good tip on burning ink…
I have a cat and the pieces of expired cards get added in with the dirty litter.
Poetic Justice!
Great picture of where to cut. That’s pretty scary that people can still use cards even after they expire. More the reason to make sure we properly dispose of our credit cards.
I guess I’m not as paranoid. Although I did learn the credit card cutting procedure from my dad way back when I was in high school (including distributing the pieces across multiple trash cans), I only make the vertical cuts that you show. Since the mag-strip data is mostly stored horizontally across the strip, cutting it horizontally doesn’t actually destroy the data.
Not that it matters – but in that illustration each set of four numbers is cut into 9 pieces.
Paranoia
I cut mine into tiny pieces, but I’ve never thought to deactivate the strip.