Study Shows Most Businesses and Virtually All Households Do Not Destroy Discarded Personal Information
An interesting report from 10/18 done in conjunction with National Identity Fraud Prevention Week in the UK reveals most businesses in the United Kingdom, and almost all the citizens, throw away documents containing personal information, such as accuont numbers, that can be used from crime and fraud as a result of not being irreversibly destroyed/shredded/etc. prior to disposal. The rate of such risky disposal practices is up over 20% from last year's findings.
Because of these alarming findings a website was created to educate individuals and businesses about the risks and how to better dispose of sensitive information. The site is interesting, with a variety of facts, statistics and recommendations. One in particular was:
"It takes 467 days to discover that you are a victim of identity fraud according to Experian."
This makes those statements that are released just days or even a few weeks following a breach that basically say "there is no evidence the data has been used to commit fraud" seem overwhelmingly meaningless, doesn't it?
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information security
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