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Social Security Numbers Solved

2009-07-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

Alessandro Acquisti and Ralph Gross say they have uncovered the algorithm that the Social Security Administration uses to assign numbers. They said they could get enough information publicly available on social networking sites with less than 100 attempts. This is very small when using a computer to test them.

One more reason we can't trust SSNs with a unique identifier for every person.

Here is the paper.

Student Records Found in Dumpster

2009-06-10T09:20:00.000-07:00

Student records for Special Education at Lake View High School of Chicago were found in the alley. The records were discovered by Art Kuesel in they alley. The files were in clearly labled boxes and contained files with names, photos, home addresses, Social Security numbers, SAT scores and the results of psychological tests.

Mr. Kuesel reported the problems to police who took possession of the boxes. [pictures]

Medical Files in Dumpster in Oklahoma

2009-06-08T12:25:00.000-07:00

Dr. David Cavallaro's, a podiatrist in Oklahoma City needs to find a shredding service. His first plan of leaving them in the dumpster didn't work out so well when they were discovered and reported to NewsChannel 4.

The story says there is no law in Oklahoma that prevents a doctor from exposing their patients to identity theft. The failed to recognized that HIPAA is a federal law that protects patient privacy and requires proper disposal.

Employees Fail to Shred Student Records

2009-05-28T09:43:00.000-07:00

We have long said that it is foolish to buy a shredder and expect employees to assign themselves the extra work of shredding. They will inevitably just save their time and put important in the trash.

The latest organization caught doing this is The Warren County Virtual school in Lebanon, Kentucky. They left all their students names, addresses and social security number in the trash. They were found by a contractor and reported to the news and police.

If you don't make document destruction easy with a shredding service you are just waiting to be the next ones in the news.

IRS and Shredding

2009-05-22T11:53:00.000-07:00

We all know to shred our tax information after it is no longer needed. It contains sensitive information that can lead to identity theft if found in your trash. The IRS doesn't seem to understand the threat.

A recent investigation of more than a dozen IRS document disposal facilities found that -- at each location -- old taxpayer records were being tossed out in regular waste containers and dumpsters.

Read the inspectors report.

Walgreens Looks to Settle Dumping

2009-05-21T11:15:00.000-07:00

Walgreens announced "We reached an agreement" in the case of leaving personal information in the trash. The attorney general countered with, "There was never an agreement that was reached."

Walgreens' rival CVS agreed to pay $2.25 million for the same violations of patient privacy in January. The attorney general is now waiting for the federal agencies involved to reach an agreement.

At the very least Walgreens has learned the cost of hoping your employees shred is at least $2.25 million.

Shredding Movie Scripts

2009-05-13T09:28:00.001-07:00

It is common to find stories about personal information that a business did not shred. The other thing that doesn't always get shredded is company confidential information. The first step for any corporate espionage is to search the company and employees trash. This never makes the news for obvious reasons.

Today we have a story of a someone throwing confidential company information in the trash before it is shredded. Two scrips for the next 'Twilight' movie have been discovered in St Louis. If you are not familiar with this movie just ask the nearest pre-teen girl. Obviously this is information the producer would not like widely released. Full Story.

North Carolina Shredding Firms Merging

2009-05-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

There is one fewer shredders in North Carolina. American Security Shredding has acquired Carolina Shredding. Both companies were based in Asheville, North Carolina. The acquisition "nearly doubles" the shredding capacity of American Security Shredding.

Patient Records Blowing Down the Road

2009-05-04T15:53:00.000-07:00

Richmond Dermatology and Laser Specialists left patient records in their dumpster instead of shredding them per HIPAA requirements. The part came when a gust of wind sent the documents flying down the street.

The interesting part is the office failed to shred all their paperwork but instead of hiring a shredding service to make sure it didn't happen again they are still doing it in-house.

Here are the pictures of blowing medical files.

Identity Theft Tied to Hotel Dumpster

2009-05-04T09:31:00.000-07:00

Nashville police have tied an identity theft ring to a hotel dumpster. William Frelix would dumpster dive at the hotel for information. New credit cards would be ordered for the stolen identities. Frelix then sold items purchased on the cards for cash. Items ordered included $3,000 in lumber and a new car engine and transmission. [story]

Too many businesses make it too easy to steal information.

Shredding Needed Oregon

2009-05-01T10:29:00.000-07:00

Brooke Auto Insurance Company of Gresham Oregon, needs to find a shredding service. Their plan was to just leave their customers' private information in the trash. The problem is someone noticed the boxes of files. He then called the local news and the police.

They may have saved a couple of bucks on shredding but now they have a PR nightmare and possible criminal charges. Not a good decision. Next time do it right and use a document shredding service.

Not Shredding in Virginia

2009-04-28T08:35:00.000-07:00

The analogy of old records being like toxic waste is was a great one in Williamsburg, VA. Old personnel files were discovered in the trash. The building owner said they belonged to the tenant, Warrior Xpress. Warrior Xpress was purchased by Celadon Trucking. Celadon said they never took possession of the files. The people left high and dry were those whose information was exposed. [story of the files]

I bet if there was an aggressive district attorney they would be able to find the legal owners.

Dumpster Diving Leads to Identity Theft

2009-04-27T13:44:00.000-07:00

We have often warned that information left in the dumpster can lead to identity theft. In Memphis they have arrested Ashley Johnson for just that.

It is alleged that Ashley was looking for boxes to move when she found old job applications from McAlister's Restaurant. She used the information to open fraudulent credit accounts at stores around the city. To get the cash she would return merchandise purchased with the fraudulent accounts and put the balance on gift cards. The gift cards were then sold for cash.

Never put your social security number on a job application. They only need it once you are hired. And if you accept job applications please do the right thing and shred them.

They Aren't Shredding In Wichita

2009-04-24T09:16:00.000-07:00

"We don't have to comply with FACTA," is the policy of Key Management in Wichita. Or at least that is what their actions indicate.

Key Management is the company that operates Madison Park Apartments. They recently threw all of their past rental applications into the dumpster. This is a violation of the FACTA Disposal Rule. When asked about it an employee said the documents didn't belong to the company. A strange answer when their letterhead was throughout the boxes.

With the increased enforcement of privacy laws, Key Management might want to be less cavalier about their customers' information.

Ohio Bureau Of Motor Vehicles

2009-04-24T08:37:00.000-07:00

After employees of the Ohio Ohio Bureau Of Motor Vehicles (BMV) had an identity theft ring running in their offices the local news wanted to know if they had improved security. In short, no. They looked in the dumpsters of 24 offices and found 10 had personal information including names, addresses, and social security numbers.

The only solution to prevent employees from throwing personal information into the trash is to make shredding as easy as throwing away. They is with convenient shredding bins a and a service that can guarantee the shredding is done.

Not Shredding in Huntsville

2009-03-27T12:19:00.000-07:00

One Huntsville company has hit a new low for how they treat their employees. Hancock Fabrics didn't think their current and past employees were worth the small cost of a shredding service to protect them from identity theft. When they were cleaning out old employee records they simply dumped them in the trash. The personal documents were found and reported to the local news.

At least some documents tossed out are the result of a company going out of business. Hancock Fabrics must now tell their current employees they have no value to the company.

Montgomery Shredding Service

2009-03-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

3GS LLC has announced the acquisition of Databank Business Services for undisclosed terms. Databank offered shredding services to the Montgomery and Birmingham Areas. The company will now operate under the Safe Shredding brand.

Not Shredding In Sarasota

2009-03-25T11:39:00.000-07:00

Westaff in Sarasota recently went out of business. Unfortunately, all their client files ended up in a dumpster. According to Anita Rence who found the documents they included "everything from W-2's, W-4's, copies of driver's licenses, social security numbers...just everything." Video.

Another case where a paper shredding service could have prevented a bad situation.

Shreveport Shredding

2009-03-18T14:37:00.000-07:00

Dr. Frederick Knight had several boxes full of patient records. He must know they need to be destroyed securely because he took them from his office and left them in a dumpster behind Toney's Eastridge Grocery. They were found by they manager who notified the police and the media.

The doctor admitted to doing this in the past and now faces illegal dumping charges and that is before HHS investigates HIPAA violations. He might want to clean up his act because the updates to HIPAA in the Stimulus Bill make the fines $10,000 per patient for willful disregard of security like this one.

Rhode Island Shredding Law

2009-03-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

To help curb identity theft caused by dumpster divers, Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch is proposing a law that would require businesses to shred personal documents. Currently the law of the state only protects electronic data.

Perhaps he is eyeing all the money that Texas is getting from business who do not shred.

Personal Documents in Trash

2009-03-09T12:59:00.000-07:00

A customer at Homestead Studio Suites in Indianapolis was throwing out some trash at the hotel when he noticed a curious stack of documents. On closer inspection he found out they were copies of receipts. The receipts had the name, address, complete credit card number and signatures. Enough information to commit credit card theft. [video]

Perhaps it is time for the hotel to find an Indianapolis shredding service.

Real Estate Shredding in Draper

2009-03-02T08:07:00.000-08:00

Mindy VanCampen was taking the trash out from her Draper office when she made a shocking discovery. The neighboring office of North Star Realty had dumped personal information from its customers into the dumpster. They were ever too lazy to throw them in the dumpster and left them laying about the area.

As a prior victim of identity theft, Ms VanCampen was outraged. She notified the media and the police of the situation. Later an employ of the company picked up the files and took them back into the office.

---------------- Update ---------------------

The Utah Division of Real Estate acknowledged that dumping client records in the trash violates Utah law. They said they handled four similar cases recently. One of the companies was fined $20,000. They said they are investigating this case and promise a hefty fine if wrongdoing is determined.

More Mortgage Application in the Trash

2009-02-25T09:35:00.000-08:00

The latest mortgage company that has been caught dumping their records is Seaview Financial of Corona del Mar. During a move a number of boxes of past customers ended up in a recycling bin at a school. But according to the owner, Paul H. Reed, it isn't his fault. The reasoning is that he hired someone to "burn" the papers so it is their fault. What he doesn't realize is FACTA requires due diligence when selecting a destruction company. Not to mention that burning is against the city ordinances. I also don't understand why someone who choose the most environmentally damaging solution would then turn around and use a recycling bin.

Shredding without the Security

2009-02-24T11:46:00.000-08:00

The dumbest decision I have heard of in a long time goes to Virginia Beach Sheriff Paul Lanteigne. He spent $40,000 on an industrial shredder so convicted criminals could do shredding. The city is now going to give the most sensitive information of their citizens to the people who have proven they are the least trust worthy.

He said it was to save money but after they purchase the shredder, pay for instillation, pay for upkeep, pay for the power, pay the inmates, pay the guards and pay for disposal of the shreds it will be lucky to break even.

It just doesn't make sense to reduce security and if you aren't even going to decrease costs. Don't believe anyone is really this foolish? Here is the story.

Shredding Tax Returns in Boston

2009-02-23T08:32:00.000-08:00

Raymond P. Letourneau runs an accounting firm in Norwood, Massachusetts. After years of preparing tax returns he was left with boxes of old returns that were no longer needed. These thousands of tax returns contain the personal information of all of his clients. So when faced with the decision on what to do with the boxes he chose to dump them behind a Family Dollar store.

The documents were discovered by store employees and the police were notified. Mr Letourneau has been fined $2,500 for illegal dumping. Not only did he expose his clients to identity theft but he spent much more the just getting the shredding done.