How much difference does all this matter anyway?

I just spent half an hour shredding our old checks because we changed our accounts and I was thinking how much of an impact collectively does all the shredding have on identity fraud anyway? Does it really make a difference? It must have an impact because we're all mostly now doing it and sales of shredders have increased (not to mention shredder accidents). But really, is there any evidence out there?

K1 had head lice once and there was a whole regimen of things that we had to do: wash and change sheets daily, vacuum daily, daily laundry, head lice shampoo. Like a lamb following its mother, we did all of these. Did any of these really had any impact? Our suspicions have been no -- the only thing that has really worked is to comb through the hair with a nit comb and to pick them out one by one.

Am I sounding like some of those who scorn proposals to change over to compact fluorescent light bulbs, turn off our computers, etc. to save the earth from global warming? I hope not because like another lamb, I am following all these suggestions.