BUSINESS CLAIMS DATA BREACH IS ACCIDENTAL

News 12 at 6 o'clock, June 23, 2010

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- The loud hum of a giant shredder fills the warehouse of Augusta Data Storage. It's the sound of safety.

Files crammed with personal information come out on the other end in formed blocks made of bits of paper; the formerly sensitive information is now all but unreadable.

Apartment complexes, banks, hospitals, and more all collect the personal information you give them. There's no telling where it could end up. Some companies keep records for years, if it's necessary for business. Boxes of old files stay in offices.

But after a move to a new office, commercial real estate company Atkins & Associates says it accidentally tossed out real estate records into a dumpster behind its Augusta business.

Off-camera, a company spokesperson told 12 On Your Side they were purging real estate records that simply got mixed in with other trash. They say they know how sensitive information can be and have since removed the papers from the dumpster.

"We encourage proper disposal," says Columbia Co. Sheriff's Office Capt. Steve Morris, "but in this particular case, it does not appear that the law was violated."

Columbia County Sheriff's Office investigated 115 reports of identity fraud in 2009 and 66 more this year. However, few reports come with complaints of so-called dumpster diving. Most instances of identity theft come from information being sold by rogue insiders of companies with access to records, according to law enforcement.

Still, according to Georgia and South Carolina law, records that include information other than names, address or phone numbers must be destroyed or made unreadable by businesses. In Georgia, businesses can dispose of records by shredding them, erasing them, or making it impossible for anyone to read.

"It's their number one concern," says Augusta Data Storage's Brian Ellefson, "that there are methods in place that protect their information, whether it's their information, their customer's information, or their patient's information."

At ADSI, 50,000 pounds of material are shredded each week. All of it is hauled to recycling companies for processing. It means your personal information could get to others; but only in the form of tissues or other paper materials.

"The risk is high anywhere and everywhere because there's so much information, so many different ways to get information," adds Ellefson. "It's everyone's responsibility to make sure they know where their information is."

Throwing away sensitive records can carry a fine of up to $500 per record and up to $10,000 dollars in Georgia.

Twice a year the Better Business Bureau sponsors shred days. The next one is coming up in October at a date and location to be announced.