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January 6, 2012

Medical Shredding on Las Vegas

Jacquelyn Romero was looking for boxes to store her Christmas decorations but got more than she expected. She found what looked like good boxes by a dumpster but they weren’t empty. They were filled with medical records. The files inclueded all the basics you need for identity theft.

Jacquelyn called the local news with the problem. It is still unclear who was responsible for the records. They are now with the Nevada Board of Medical Examiners.

Shredding medical records has been a federal requirement since HIPAA went into effect half a dozen years ago. The fines that can be imposed are very punative with the HITECH changes to the law.

If you have medical records we have some great Las Vegas shredding services that can help you out. The can turn medical records into bits and then recycle it all.

 

Filed under: hipaa,HITECH — Tags: , , , — admin @ 6:15 pm

December 22, 2011

Shredding Needed in Gallatin, Tennessee

A woman in Gallatin, Tennessee found more than just trash when she visited the Sumner County Resource Authority center last week. The dumpster was full of medical records. Not shredding medical records is a clear violation of HIPAA. The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, turned the material over to the Tennessee Department Health Investigator. She found three large garbage bags full of records but it is unclear if that is all that were dumped.

It will be a great day when we don’t have to report on medical practices that treat their patients so poorly. The cost of a medical records shredding service is far less than the class action lawsuit that is allowed under HIPAA. It also keeps private information out of the hands of identity theives.  I imagine if given the option these patients would have come back and picked up their records instead of having them left in the trash.

Filed under: dumpster diving,hipaa — Tags: , , — admin @ 12:20 pm

November 22, 2011

Files Found in Portsmouth, Ohio

The Ohio State Highway Patrol responded to a complaint about personal records in a dumpster in Portsmouth, Ohio. The officers did find several dumpsters filled with personal information behind the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission office. 

The matter has been turned over to Inspector General Randall Meyer of the Ohio Office of the Inspector General. He said he is investigating the issue and will notify people if their information was compromised.

Judging by the photo they were doing a file purge. This would swamp the average office shredder. The only solution is to use an industrial shredder. The good news is they can be built into trucks and brought right to your location. This is a mobile shredding service. Or they have an even bigger shredder at a plant. This one will shred ten tons of paper an hour.

But what about the cost? All you need to do is compare apples to apples. Lets assume you already own the impossibly perfect shredder (never breaks or needs repair). The wages of paying someone to sit in front of the shredder for hours and hours is more than what a service is going to cost. For example you might have a small job of just a dozen boxes. It takes an hour or two per box at $10 an hour. A service will charge around $5 per box. So easily half the cost.

Filed under: dumpster diving — Tags: , , — admin @ 10:15 am

October 3, 2011

San Antonio Document Shredding

Training Rehabilitation and Development Institute in San Antonio (TRDI) left a box of employee files in the dumpster. It was found by someone looking for boxes for a move. The boxes contained the names, SSNs, and copies of drivers licenses for hundreds of employees. The local news was notified of the situation. The news station must love these reports because they write themselves. Show some video of the box and the dumpster. Then a short interview with the person who found the box. The big payoff is when they find someone that had their identity exposed. Then all that is left is the call to the company spokesperson. [video]

To keep your business from getting the call from “Action News” then a San Antonio document shredding service may be your best defense. One call and the sensitive data is gone.

Filed under: dumpster diving — Tags: , — admin @ 9:37 am

June 29, 2011

In Need of a Harlingen Shredding Service

When Statewide Insurance closed an office in Harlingen they didn’t feel the need to shred their customers information. Instead they just left it in the dumpster. When most people are confronted with this type of behavior they say it was a mistake and won’t happen again. Jay Barnes, the General Manager for Statewide in Austin had a different answer. He said he didn’t need to worry about his customers because the information was “are five years or older.” [video]

Shame on you Jay Barnes and Statewide Insurance. You have demonstrated how you view your customers. You have forgotten who pays your salary. I can only imagine how you treat customers when they try to file a claim.

Filed under: dumpster diving — Tags: — admin @ 9:37 am

May 18, 2011

Shredding at the Gym

People go to the gym to shred off the pounds. But they may be at risk for losing some weight in their wallet. The problem is many gyms require long contracts. This can be automatic credit card or check and sometimes they are often financed. This requires gyms to adhere to FACTA. The problem is when people don’t take their responsibilities seriously.

The example of the day is 509 Fitness in Kennewick, Washington. Instead of shredding all their members financial information the just put it in the trash. The best way to make sure shredding is done is to make it easy. A shredding service will place bins in your office at no charge and shred everything you collect. It is easy, it is secure, and you never get embarrassing calls from reporters.

Filed under: dumpster diving,FACTA — Tags: , , — admin @ 9:41 am

May 13, 2011

Shredder Needed in Indianapolis

This is one you can file under bad business people make bad business decisions. KB Pizza lost its contract to operate Dominoes Pizza outlets throughout Indiana. Apparently there were some problems with paying their bills which is always an indication of a failing business. Then the managers of the company failed to protect their former employees. Instead of properly destroying personal information they just left it in a grocery store dumpster. It was discovered there from someone looking for coupons. The local FOX affiliate was notified.

It is no fun to wind down a business but it is still important to take care of the business records. Some records need to be stored for legal reasons and others shredded to protect employees and customers.

Filed under: dumpster diving — Tags: , — admin @ 9:20 am

April 25, 2011

Shredding Needed in Snellville, Georgia

Snellville police are investigating why thousands of private records were dumped behind a strip mall.  The documents included  credit card information with the three-digit security code and checking account numbers with routing numbers. This is everything needed to make false credit card transactions or produce counterfeit checks. The problem was reported to Channel 2 Action News and the police.

If you need shredding in Snellville or anywhere else in Georgia we can send a mobile shredding truck right to your location. Your reputation and your customers stay protected at a lower cost than buying a shredder.

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Update 4/27

The documents were from a collection agency called Resolution Services of America. They were sold to another company and it is believed a cleaning crew left the documents in the dumpster. It is not believed the information was compromised.

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , — admin @ 11:26 am

April 19, 2011

Health Records Dumped in Saskatchewan

In the last month there are been five cases of patient records turning up in dumpsters. The problems came to the public’s attention when thousands of records were discovered in a dumpster in Regina last March 23rd. Since then there have been three additional reports submitted to Gary Dickson, Saskatchewan’s Privacy Commissioner. Three were in Regina and one in Saskatoon. [report].

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , — admin @ 11:01 am

April 5, 2011

Student Records Found in Dumpster

Tracy Roerdon found the student records for the Huntington Learning Center in a dumpster behind a strip mall. The records contained ages, work numbers, and personal history. Tracy notified the authorities and Fox 5.  Victoria Sieven, the director of the center said a company had been hired to store the records for five years and then shred them. She did not disclose the name of the company.

Filed under: dumpster diving — Tags: , , — admin @ 8:54 am
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