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Documents with personal information found in Decatur dumpster
Documents with personal information found in Decatur dumpster - Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dec. 6, 2021Failure to properly dispose of records is a crime, but it’s not clear who’s at fault
Sonya Hooks was putting her junk papers into a bin at a popular recycling center on a recent Sunday in Decatur, when she couldn’t believe what she saw inside: Documents with names, phone numbers, a photocopied driver’s license, and Social Security numbers.
“I was just in shock,” Hooks said, noting the paperwork was related to services for senior citizens. “And they’re the most vulnerable... Somebody can take this information and come to some elderly person’s house and take advantage of them.”
Privacy experts say both federal and Georgia laws were almost certainly violated when the records were discarded. No local or state government or agency has taken responsibility for the documents.
Under federal law, whoever is responsible for dumping the documents improperly can be fined up to $50,000 per violation, and each victim could be counted as a violation.
The papers were left in the paper recycling bin at the Your DeKalb Farmers Market, which is open to the general public. To recycle paper, people climb a stepladder to reach a window at the top of a dumpster, where they find themselves looking inside.
Sonya Hooks was putting her junk papers into a bin at a popular recycling center on a recent Sunday in Decatur, when she couldn’t believe what she saw inside: Documents with names, phone numbers, a photocopied driver’s license, and Social Security numbers.
“I was just in shock,” Hooks said, noting the paperwork was related to services for senior citizens. “And they’re the most vulnerable... Somebody can take this information and come to some elderly person’s house and take advantage of them.”
Privacy experts say both federal and Georgia laws were almost certainly violated when the records were discarded. No local or state government or agency has taken responsibility for the documents.
Under federal law, whoever is responsible for dumping the documents improperly can be fined up to $50,000 per violation, and each victim could be counted as a violation.
The papers were left in the paper recycling bin at the Your DeKalb Farmers Market, which is open to the general public. To recycle paper, people climb a stepladder to reach a window at the top of a dumpster, where they find themselves looking inside.
More at link: https://www.ajc.com/news/documents-with-personal-information-found-in-decatur-dumpster/FBEJ6X7XURCGHOUKFXXDD5WHO4/