NBC Reports Consumer Privacy Is Being Violated By Bankrupt Mortgage Companies
By Myles Cairns
America's mortgage crisis is having an unexpected impact on the privacy of many consumers. These consumers have tremendous exposure to potential identity theft through the common practice which the FTC refers to as 'dumpster diving'.
It seems that recently bankrupt mortgage companies are illegally dumping piles of confidential personal paper documents belonging to former clients in common dumpsters across the country.
These companies include First Magnus of Tuscon AZ, Alpha Mortgage Services of Toledo OH, American United Mortgage of Northbrook IL and Union Mortgage Services of Cleveland OH, to name a few. Similar incidents from Hawaii to Georgia and virtually everywhere in between have been discovered in the past months and years.
An NBC news reporter quite easily discovered all the most sensitive and confidential information an identity thief would need to steal the identities of hundreds of consumers. They were all openly sitting in a dumpster.
Sensitive records such as Social Security Numbers, tax returns, credit reports and banking records are routinely discarded in open dumpsters which violates FACT regulations. The problem is that it is difficult if not impossible for authorities to prosecute a defunct company.
America's mortgage crisis is having an unexpected impact on the privacy of many consumers. These consumers have tremendous exposure to potential identity theft through the common practice which the FTC refers to as 'dumpster diving'.
It seems that recently bankrupt mortgage companies are illegally dumping piles of confidential personal paper documents belonging to former clients in common dumpsters across the country.
These companies include First Magnus of Tuscon AZ, Alpha Mortgage Services of Toledo OH, American United Mortgage of Northbrook IL and Union Mortgage Services of Cleveland OH, to name a few. Similar incidents from Hawaii to Georgia and virtually everywhere in between have been discovered in the past months and years.
An NBC news reporter quite easily discovered all the most sensitive and confidential information an identity thief would need to steal the identities of hundreds of consumers. They were all openly sitting in a dumpster.
Sensitive records such as Social Security Numbers, tax returns, credit reports and banking records are routinely discarded in open dumpsters which violates FACT regulations. The problem is that it is difficult if not impossible for authorities to prosecute a defunct company.
“It makes you wonder how bad your credit rating becomes if people get this in their hands,” Kim Soeder said, whose personal financial records were recovered from a Cleveland area dumpster by the NBC news team.
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