With the faltering economy, many businesses are shutting their doors – and sometimes improperly disposing of their records, putting their former customers at risk for identity theft. Examples from just the past month include:
•In late May, two decades’ worth of customer records from a recently closed boat company in Portland, Oregon, were discovered in a dumpster. The records contained personal information, including Social Security numbers, according to Portland television station KGW, which had received a tip about the abandoned records.