Securing confidential information is a concern for individuals and businesses worldwide. Once consumers surrender personal identifying information, they trust that it will be properly protected, kept in confidence, and responsibly disposed of when no longer needed. That’s why this morning’s report from The Argus, about a shockingly inappropriate disposal of consumer information in the town of Worthing in West Sussex, England, is of concern to both local and international audiences.
In this article Richard Gurner reports that a bundle of confidential documents containing banking and other personal information for the population of Worthing was found in a bin behind the town hall. The documents had not been shredded and could have easily allowed for trash-diving identity thieves to exploit members of the community. Mark O’Keefe, who found the documents, noted that they ironically contained a document about a fraud interview.
“Leaving people’s personal details on the street is appalling,” O’Keefe said, as quoted in the article. He also notes that the find is in violation of the U.K.’s Data Protection Act. A city council representative from Worthing remarked that the matter is being looked into.
Improper disposal of personal information is just one of the reasons why id verification should be an essential part of your everyday business plan. With Electronic Verification Systems IdentiFraud and IdentiFraud International solutions, you can seamlessly integrate id verification into your existing security measures to protect your business and your consumers at home and abroad.