By Michael Berg, CreditCards.com
Most people wouldn’t throw out their Social Security card or toss a credit card in the trash. Yet careful souls worldwide have been dumping old computers by the millions, filling landfills with exactly that kind of sensitive information, where aggressive high-tech criminals can readily scoop it up.
According to the latest statistics from the EPA, 205 million computer products were disposed of in 2007, with a paltry 48 million of those recycled. That leaves plenty of identities in the garbage stream just waiting to be poached.
Indeed, many computers are being mined for Social Security numbers, credit card information, bank statements, investment records and various other tidbits that open the door for everything from credit card fraud to full-on identity theft. While exact numbers are difficult to come by, there’s no doubt it’s happening with ever more frequency.
Posted in Fraud Detection & Prevention, Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: computer disposal, CreditCards.com, hard drive, hard drive disposal, identity theft expert, Identity Theft Prevention, Identity Theft Speaker, John Sileo
Protect yourself from identity theft by shredding daily
By Michael Berg
Modern criminals may be stealing personal information electronically through sophisticated online data mining tools, but small-time crooks sorting through food wrappers and dirty diapers in the quest for discarded paperwork ‘still lurk.
In fact, not shredding potentially sensitive documents before you dispose of them is almost like begging to become one of the Federal Trade Commission’s estimated 9 million victims of identity theft in the United States every year. And with adequate shredders available for as low as $50, there’s almost no excuse — every household should have one.
Posted in Identity Theft Prevention by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo.
Tags: CreditCards.com, Data Breach Speaker, Fellowes, identity theft expert, Identity Theft Prevention, John Sileo, Paper Shredders
