According to an article in The Seattle Times, the Washington State Attorney General estimates that one in six people will become a victim to identity theft at some point. Javelin Strategy and Research, a California-based research group, reports that about 4 percent of Americans are victims of identity theft every year, with the average loss at over $6,000. FBI statistics say identity theft is the nation's fastest growing crime and it's not expected to slow any time soon.

Digital identity theft (whereby thieves gain access to your computer, banking or credit card records) gets a lot of press, but the easiest way for criminals to get information like your name, birth date, credit card numbers or social security number is by poking around in your garbage. Paper shredding is a huge deterrent. Although it's technically possible to reassemble shredded documents, a criminal has to be pretty motivated. You can further safeguard documents by separating shredded papers into different bags of trash.

In order to help gauge paper-shredder quality, the government has designed several security levels for paper shredders, based on how easy it is to reassemble a document after it's been shredded; the smaller the shred, the higher the security rating. Most home shredders are 'level one' shredders, meaning paper pieces are no larger than 3/8" x 3.5". Most home cross-cut shredders chop up paper no larger than 3/8" x 1.5". Security levels go up to level six -- which is designated for the National Security Administration and the Department of Defense. Paper-shredder reviews say most homes and small businesses will be fine with level one or level two.

There are two main types of home and small-office paper shredders. Strip-cut shredders cut paper into long strips. This type of shredder is considered much less secure than cross-cut paper shredders, which also chop paper crosswise into confetti. Reviews recommend skipping strip-cut paper shredders entirely. Reviews say cross-cut shredders are vastly more secure.

Crosscut paper shredders – also called confetti-cut shredders – cut documents in two directions, chomping them into confetti-like pieces, which greatly reduces the chances of the document being pieced back together. By far, crosscut paper shredder models are the most recommended in paper-shredder reviews. Staples and paper clips are no longer a problem for most shredders. Almost any paper shredder can hack through these.

Reviews really do not recommend strip-cut paper shredders (also called ribbon-cut shredders) at all, since they don't chop paper into the smallest pieces. A strip-cut paper shredder cuts documents into long strips, usually 7 mm or less, which can be more easily reassembled by an ambitious criminal. Strip-cut shredders aren't necessarily any cheaper than crosscut paper shredders, so there's really no need to skimp, according to reviews.