Credit cards - How to properly destroy them

I don't know about you, but sometimes you just have to wonder if credit cards are worth having at all. If you do insist on carrying one around, there are definitely some "do's" and "don'ts" in order to protect yourself.

You probably already know how bad identity theft is these days - it's crazy - so a little care when using your credit or debit card is definitely in order.

I ran across this article today that address this very issue and provides some great tips on how to ensure your card and your information, remains safe and confidential.

One of my favorites was this one:

"Do not throw or return the card without cutting the same in multiple pieces across magnetic stripe"

It might seem obvious, but just cutting your card in half, length-wise, is not good enough. Make sure that the magnetic tape can not be recovered.

Here's what I do when destroying a credit or debit card:

1) Take the sharp end of the scissors and scratch the heck out of that black magnetic strip.

2) Cut through the numbers on the card multiple times, in parallel lines, but NOT all the way through the card.

3) Cut through the length of the card, perpendicular to the previous cuts made through the numbers, this time all the way through and across the length of the card.

This effectively turns your card into little particles from which it would be virtually impossible to reconstruct the card number, let alone the magnetic strip. I've been on the receiving end of credit card theft and it is NO fun whatsoever. Be careful how you treat those things and you'll save yourself a ton of headaches.