Barry Boyd came accross around a dozen boxes of what appeared to be medical records behind an apartment complex in Wheaton, MD. Worried about the personal information contained he notified the police.

It turns out the files came from Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. The files were supposed to be shredded but it is unknown how they came to be in a dumpster behind the apartment.

This is just another case where an employee was left to complete an important task without supervision or documentation. Companies who leave shredding to their employees will continue to find their records in dumpsters and the press at the door.

Total Training Services, aka Shred School is opening up a new conference series for shredders. While they say it does not compete with the annual NAID conference in the Spring it sure does appear to do just that.

We have long suggested that all new shredders attend the Shred School. There is no better way to learn the ins and outs of this industry.

We wish Ray good luck in this new venture and are sure that the information at the conference will be of great value to current and future shredders.

Fidelity Escrow Services Corp. of Hawaii has been fined $10,000 failing to shred documents containing their customers personal information, including social security numbers. In total 39 boxes of records were found in a dumpster behind the company's office.

The company was charged under the states identity theft law that went into effect the first of the year.

A $10,000 fine sure makes the cost of a shredding service seem small.

Concerned about HIPAA compliance a California dentist purchased several shredders and placed them around the office. It must have been quite a surprise when the local news came in the door with patient records dug out of his trash.

When he asked his employees what happened they explained that the shredders were loud and people complained. To make their patients happy they stopped using the shredders.

Now the dentist is on the five o'clock news and subject to HIPAA penalties.

If you think you can trust your employees to take the extra time to shred material instead of just tossing it in the trash I hope you look good on camera.