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.
February 25, 2009
February 24, 2009
Shredding without the Security
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.
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February 23, 2009
Shredding Tax Returns in Boston
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.
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February 20, 2009
The Cost of Not Shredding
How much does not shredding cost? For CVS Pharmacy it was two and a quarter million dollars. The pharmacy was caught throwing patient data into their dumpsters. The documents were discovered by the local news and reported the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Throwing patient data in the trash is a violation of HIPAA. The payment will go to the HHS along with the implementation of a “robust corrective plan.”
With 700 billion dollar spending packages that might seem small but most businesses don’t have an extra 2 million sitting around to pay out settlements. Now weigh that against the cost of a shredding service that will come by monthly for $50. That is 44,500 visits or 3,708 years of shredding done for you.
So to recap the last few hundred posts; your shredding options are secure and cheap: a shredding service, less secure and more expensive: buy a shredder and hope, not secure and most expensive: do nothing.
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February 14, 2009
Shred the Love
Single in Minneapolis were not left out this Valentines day. They didn’t get roses but they did get to have some fun with shredders. The Midtown Global Market sponsored a “Shred the Love” event. People were invited to bring in gifts and cards from past loves and run them through the shredder.
There is nothing like a bit of shredding to make a day better.
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February 10, 2009
Not Shredding in Denver
The Anti-Gym was recently shuttered by the IRS for a failure to pay payroll taxes but it looks like the former clients of the gym were the real losers. That is because detailed and personal information was left in the dumpster behind the gym. This included the standard fodder for an identity thief. It also had some very personal information that clients had shared with their trainers. The information was stored in client files. The owner said he was not responsible for the documents ending in the dumpster because he was locked out by the IRS but witnesses disagree. [full story]
I hope that bankruptcy courts allow businesses to spend a little on a shredding service to protect the personal information a business maintains.
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February 2, 2009
Not Shredding in Volusia County
Through an “unfortunate oversight” Southern Satellite decided to dump their customers information into the dumpster. This included names, addresses, social security numbers and even credit card numbers. The information was discovered and reported to Channel 9 and the police. Southern Satellite installs dishes in the area. Perhaps it is time to find a Florida shredding service
See the video.
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