Dispose of your card safely by following the steps below:
Step 1: The magnetic strip
The magnetic strip on the back of your card contains multiple tracks that store your personal data. To prevent unauthorized access to this information, you can render the magnetic strip useless by running a magnet along it several times
Step 2: Cut the card
To ensure that all functions of the card are voided and to prevent a possible fraudster from reading the physical features, it's important to cut up the card methodically using a strong pair of scissors:
To ensure that your card number and name cannot be used by anyone else, cut through the long card number horizontally and then vertically over the letters. To make sure the chip cannot be used, cut through it diagonally and then keep cutting it into smaller pieces. To ensure that the security code (last 3 digits on the back of your card) cannot be read or used, cut through it horizontally and then vertically over the numbers.
Step 3: Inspect the pieces
After cutting up the card, carefully inspect all the pieces to ensure that none of them contain any sensitive information that could be used for fraudulent activities.
Step 4: Dispose your card
To minimize the risk of someone piecing your card back together, separate the card remains into different bins rather than placing all the pieces into one bin. Additionally, for added security, consider adding some parts of your card to each bin collection day to ensure that your entire card in pieces is not collected on the same day