While criminals are increasingly using technology to commit identity theft, it seems that one of the oldest and lowest technological forms of crime remains a major risk. Two major incidents "dumpster diving" took place in recent days that potentially exposed countless consumers to identity theft.
A camera man from a local television station in San Francisco drew unidentified men carrying buckets of paperwork brewed garbage behind Department of Human Services in the city. Witnesses reported seeing a number of pieces of personal information, including social security numbers, ID cards, names and addresses in the unlocked bins.
Master of Human Services San Francisco, Trent Rohrer, admitted the failure of his department to keep the information safe. "We have a whole series of policies and procedures to prevent such things from happening, and clearly there are flaws in this," Rohrer said. He also promised a "top to bottom" investigation of the incident.
Across the country, in Washington DC, a local news program reports another bucket unlocked with hundreds of documents related to real estate transactions. This paperwork includes detailed financial information on the persons concerned, and social security numbers. The files were apparently owned by a real estate company that went bankrupt a few months earlier.
"This is a tragedy to find all these personal documents in a trash can in an alley," said police Lt. Bill Farr, DC, who was at the scene of the investigation.
Once identity thieves have the type of information that has been exposed flaws in both low-tech, it is relatively easy for them to commit one of the most common forms of theft identity known as new account fraud. details using such as name, address and social security number a criminal can begin securing financial accounts and others on behalf of the victim. Fortunately, there are steps you can take as a consumer to protect yourself.
First, it is important to realize that your own garbage may contain information very sensitive and it is important to properly dispose. Shredding sensitive documents, old credit cards, floppy disks / CDs is a good way to make these unnecessary items to an identity thief. You can read our tips on how to choose the right shredder for more.
Second, you can be aware of who is storing your information and education in the way they treat. It's a good idea to ask all companies who keep records of your information that their policies are for the storage and disposal of sensitive products. Although the fact that a company has a policy to prevent data breaches are not necessarily a guarantee that your information will not end up in the wrong hands, it is a very bad sign if the company does not have a policy. Make sure you are comfortable about how your personal information will be treated and disposed of before disclosing anything to a third party.
Finally, it is a good idea to consider using a protection against identity theft services. Although there is no way to prevent identity theft from occurring, most of the services we have reviewed can take proactive steps to help limit the risk of victimization. Most also offer assistance with recovery if you are a victim of identity theft. You can learn more by visiting our guide to identity theft protection services.