Perhaps Florida's AG should Learn from the Texas AG

Bonanza for identity theft in trash behind Sarasota Blockbuster

October 23, 2007

By Cathy Zollo

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20071023/NEWS/710230558

Jonathan Murray was fishing in a trash container for boxes Friday when he found what could have been a thief's bonanza.

Amongst the trash from a Blockbuster video store were membership forms and employment applications that included names, addresses, credit card numbers and Social Security numbers.

"The sad part is that even after I told Blockbuster about it, I went back the next day to go get some more boxes, and this time I found credit card stuff," said Murray, a Sarasota resident.

Federal and state officials said no law was broken in the incident, but Florida law puts the onus on Blockbuster to inform its customers of the security lapse.

So According to the State of Florida dumping records containing this type of information is not against the law.  Glad I'm not in Florida anymore.  And Blockbuster has definitely made the list of businesses I will personally boycott from now on.  Two days in a row they dumped this information in the trash.  Is the video rental business so bad they can't afford to spend $100  for a shredder? Perhaps Blockbuster's CEO should talk to the CEO's of Radio Shack and CVS since both companies are facing lawsuits in the State of Texas for this very crime.

As far as the it's not a crime from the Federal side, perhaps the Federal authorities in Florida should order a copy of the FTC publication "Protecting Personal Information: A Guide for Business" and see what the Federal Trade Commission has to say. 

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"Effectively dispose of paper records by shredding, burning, or pulverizing them before discarding."

Businesses must update their policies to reflect the current identity theft epidemic.  Maybe Blockbuster did not "break" the law per se, but they certainly bent it out of shape.  Consumers need to be aware of these types of policies.  A business that just throws credit card numbers and employment applications in a dumpster where anyone can get their hands on them show a callous disregard for their customers.  There's more than enough warnings and horror stories out there about identity theft to cancel the most imaginative excuse for not properly disposing of personal information.

Or maybe they figure the big corporation has no responsibility to live up to the trust you put in them when you provided your information