A Comprehensive Look at On-Site Document Shredding

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ON-SITE DOCUMENT SHREDDING:

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LEGISLATION

State and Federal Laws

Consumer privacy has become a very public issue. So serious is the issue of privacy that governments worldwide are enacting legislation mandating the secure disposal of various types of information.

HIPAA

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is forcing U.S. healthcare providers to change the way they approach their patients' confidential information.

GLBA

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) has had significant implications for banking and financial industries across the United States, changing the way these institutions handle confidential client information.

Fair and Accurate Transactions Act (FACTA)

The recently signed Fair and Accurate Transactions Act establishes a national system of fraud detection so victims can alert all three major credit rating agencies with a single phone call.

Starting Wednesday (June 1, 2005), employers must destroy personal information about their employees before they throw it out if they got the information from a credit report. That means "shredding or burning" paper documents or "smashing or wiping" computer disks.

Economic Espionage Act

The US Economic Espionage Act guards the confidentiality of trade secrets.

Wisconsin Shredding Law

The Wisconsin Shredding Law mandates that certain businesses, particularly financial, medical and tax preparation institutions, properly dispose of all confidential client records and information.

Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act

On July 15, 2004, President Bush signed into law a measure that imposes mandatory prison terms for criminals who use identity theft in committing terrorist acts and other offenses. A criminal will serve an extra five years in prison for using a false passport in connection with a terrorism-related crime. Two years would be tacked on for ID theft in connection with other types of crimes.

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Bill C-6

Bill C-6 is designed to protect the privacy of individual Canadian consumers.

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Data Protection Act

The Data Protection Act requires companies throughout the United Kingdom to establish rules for the storage and destruction of electronic paper documents pertaining to employees' personal information.

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California v. Greenwood

In 1988, the US Supreme Court ruled in the California v. Greenwood case that garbage is public domain. The case involved the police department’s search of a drug dealer’s trash. They found enough drug paraphernalia to issue a warrant for his arrest and eventual conviction. Although Greenwood’s attorney appealed that the search violated his 4^th Amendment rights which limit search and seizure, the Court ruled 6 to 2 that the search was legal.

The Court’s decision overturned the 1974 Privacy Act and stated that garbage is subject to inspection to seizure by anyone, including criminals and corporate competitors. “Dumpster Diving” has since become the number one source of corporate espionage and consumer fraud in this country. 

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Georgia Identity Theft Law takes effect July 1, 2002

Source: Online. http://biz.yahoo.com. 1 July 2002

A new privacy law takes effect Monday exposing Georgia businesses to fines up to $10,000 for the improper disposal of materials that contain personal information about customers.

The Georgia Identity Theft law aims to protect businesses’ customers from the problems that can result from having personal information fall into the wrong hands.

What type of information is considered personal information? “Personal information includes a wide range of data in any format – written, printed, spoken, visual or electronic,” says Rebecca Stone, an Arnall Golden Gregory attorney. “It includes information about a customer’s medical condition or a customer’s account or identification number. Account balances, credit limits, loan applications, tax returns – it’s all included.”

The law also applies to any information capable of being associated with a particular customer – Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, photographs, dates of birth, medical information or disability information.

“Businesses that need to pay strict attention to this law include any that obtain credit applications or maintain customer database records that include the name, address and Social Security number or tax identification number of customers,” Stone said. If a business fits that description, it should develop a policy for properly destroying personal data. Each violation can result in fines up to $10,000.

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California creates Identity Theft Law

Source: Online. http://www.newsbytes.com. 11 October 2001 ; By Robert MacMillan, Newsbytes.

WASHINGTON , D.C. -- The bill requires businesses to cease printing Social Security numbers on health plan and employer identification cards, as well as other kinds of IDs. It also forbids the future printing of Social Security numbers on bank statements and other documents sent by mail, and allows people to freeze access to their credit reports.

"The advances in technology haven't just made our lives easier, they've also made life easier for criminals who want to steal people's identities, go on an unlimited shopping spree and stick someone else with the bills," Bowen said in a statement. "Identity theft is one of the easiest, most risk-free crimes thieves can commit. They don't need a gun, a knife, or a getaway car. All they need is someone's Social Security number and a pen."

"The security freeze lets you lock up your credit history, so criminals can't assume your name, get approved for loans and credit cards based on your good credit rating, and then send the collection agencies chasing after you," Bowen added. "Without access to a credit report, businesses aren't going to issue credit, loans and services to someone who walks through the door with your name and Social Security number claiming they're you."

Bowen also cited statistics from the California Public Interest Research Group showing that identity theft victims on average spend 175 hours fighting $18,000 in fraudulent charges, such as bad checks, unpaid credit card bills and overdue car loans.

She also said the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's ID theft hotline typically receives 1,700 calls a week claiming identity theft.

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Bill to stop theft of Social Security numbers gains momentum

Source: Online. http://www.wral-tv.com/news/national. 31 August 2002

Washington (AP) – Rep. Mark Foley was stunned when he received a call last year from a collection agency wanting to know when he planned to pay for more than $700 worth of items purchased with a new credit card.

The Florida Republican said he didn’t buy the items or even own the card. An investigation revealed someone else had applied for it, using Foley’s Social Security number.

A bill approved Thursday by a House Ways and Means subcommittee seeks to combat that problem, known as Identity Theft.

The legislation would make the sale of Social Security numbers illegal and prohibit the government from putting those numbers on public documents.

In addition, motor vehicle departments could not display Social Security numbers on licenses or vehicle registrations. The bill also prevents credit agencies and other businesses from refusing to do business with someone who won’t provide a Social Security number.

“With Social Security numbers being used so frequently, that number had become the key for a criminal to assume your identity,” Bunning said. “This bill will allow all Americans to keep their Social Security number far more secure.”

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