Old Tax Forms Found in Open Dumpster

Multiple old tax returns, having personal information, including Social Security numbers, were found inside a Fremont dumpster.

The paper government forms were inside the open dumpster for a few days, as indicated by witnesses, and they all contained personal information for anybody to effortlessly take.

The dumpster is situated in a parking garage off Grimmer Boulevard in Fremont, where a close-by affirmed CPA practices,

"It's disturbing," said Robert Petesch, a Newark occupant whose documents were inside the dumpster. "I thought it would have been destroyed. Our names, our Social Security number, my employer, money related information. This is a major breach of my personal security."

The tax forms were prepared by Ed Robinson, a nearby CPA. When he was questioned about the matter, Robinson said he didn't know they should have been shredded.

"I thought they would take it and burn it," he said. "I shouldn't have done it. I'm sorry."

A couple of hours after the fact, Robinson, who is resigning, put a bolt on the dumpster. In the meantime, one of his customers was so worried about the reports that he brought matters into his own hands, he contacted an organization to have them pick up the records and shred them.

Petesch was alleviated to have his old tax forms in his hands. "I will shred this," he said.

Robinson told his customer he will pay for the shredding.

The California Society of CPAs asks all duty preparers to shred any tax forms they are not keeping.

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Confidential Records Taken From Tax Filing Office Found In Dumpster

A man found hundreds of tax documents discarded in a dumpster at a Mansfield industrial office complex which was only ten miles away from the Liberty Tax Alta Mesa office in Fort Worth in which they were filed at.

The man who found the documents, called a woman in Mansfield to let her know that her personal information was found in that dumpster.

The records contained social security numbers, addresses, drivers license numbers, and bank account information.

Authorities are investigating the dumping and theft of the documents according to the owner of the franchise.

Past employees and current are being asked questions about this incident.

According to Liberty Tax officials, all the customers will be contacted about this security breach and identity protection will be given to all of them.

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To learn more about how Mobile Record Shredders can protect your documents and hard drives, please contact us to get a free quote and security risk assessment.

Confidential documents found in a recycling dumpster

It appears that the documents found in the dumpster are linked to a Hillsboro Law Group. Most of the documents were tax returns with social security information on them.

Hundreds of records of confidential legal documents were found in a recycling dumpster in Hillsboro. The documents contained information of emails, delicate customer records, and tax returns with social security numbers on them.

A lady who worked at a nearby business who shared a recycling dumpster with the company found the confidential information. “I was appalled that this information was just sitting there,” said Melissa.

“I took out my recycling and all these law papers were just sitting on top of the boxes,” said Melissa. “This could be a gold mine in the wrong hands.”

According to Melissa most of the documents seemed to be connected with a law group that has an office close by. She said she emailed and called St. Andrew Legal Clinic in Hillsboro but never got a response.

Just days after Melissa found the documents in the dumpster and after she had notified the law office, it was discovered that most of the documents had been removed. However, there were still legal records and receipts still in the open dumpster.

One form titled “Intake Sheet” included the contact information, name of the customer, the person’s recent wage information, estimated retainer and attorney’s fees, along with why the person needed legal assistance.

This man’s information was located and his information was returned to him.

“It’s upsetting to know that all of my personal information is not being disposed of properly,” said Brendan.

Read the rest of the article here.

Confirmed DMV Document tossed in trash

Last week, News10NBC was contacted by a concerned citizen who found stacks of documents in the DMV dumpster behind its Henrietta office. The documents included social security numbers, names, emails, addresses and phone numbers. David Mottshaw also showed us documents which included Homeland Security and Visa information from a Chinese student at the University of Rochester and information on unmarked cars from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

News10NBC searched the dumpsters near the DMV offices in Greece and Irondequoit. In Irondequoit, we found more documents with social security numbers and insurance information.

Today, the Director of the County Office of Public Integrity, David Moore, said in a statement, "while I cannot comment on the nature of our investigations, I can confirm that I have been contacted by the Monroe County Legislature and the Office of Monroe County Clerk regarding the potentially improper handling of documents at local DMV locations. We will now follow Office of Public Integrity (OPI) policy and procedure to determine the appropriate next steps."

Moore recommended that anyone who has used the DMV offices in Monroe County recently should monitor bank statements. Moore also said the Monroe County Clerk's office, which manages the DMV offices, should provide free credit monitoring for any customer that used the DMV in the last 90 days. 

Read the rest of the article here.

Dozens of Medical Records Found in Dumpster

Piles of health documents were tossed in a public dumpster for anyone to get their hands on and the Connecticut Country Branch of health is investigating.

Multiple stacks of health information had been discovered buried in a dumpster in the back of Allied Medical Associates in Waterbury on Tuesday. The documents contain private and sensitive health information.

“I’m afraid that my medical information may be there and that’s not a good thing,” Yasmeen Burgos, of Waterbury, told NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters.

Burgos was treated by Allied Medical Associates’ primary medical doctor Dr. Stephen P. Harris a couple years ago and is concerned her records could be compromised.

Harris informed NBC Connecticut that the clinical office closed down two days after Christmas because the bills were not paid.

“I can’t treat my patients and also stand over people watching what’s going on, so suddenly, I found out we have been deeply in debt due to the fact that a lot of bills hadn’t been paid,” Harris said.

A note on the front door of Allied Medical Associates said the office is permanently closed and for patients to contact their legal attorney.

A state health worker showed up a short time after the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters to analyze the information inside the Waterbury dumpster on Tuesday.

Harris revealed to the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters that his house and car have been packed with patient information saved from his practice; however, he admits the others that were discovered in the dumpster had been approved to go in the garbage.

“There have been containers of files that were categorized or I thought categorized 2010 and there’s only a seven-year duration you need to keep the documents, so we placed them in the dumpster. I’m liable for it; I have talked to the state. We’re going to retrieve those ones and shred them but it was not deliberate- it was a terrible choice, however, it was a decision made because we had so little time to get out,” Harris said.

NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters asked Harris why the files weren’t destroyed the first time.

“I understand they needed to be shredded, however, I felt that you know, once the dumpster people got here and placed them in a dump covered up and chewed them up, there wouldn’t be anybody crawling through there to get those,” Harris said. “We had our own shredder and it takes forever to shred those and we didn’t have time to do it.”
State health officers secured the information on Tuesday afternoon. They said they cannot comment on an ongoing investigation, but they supplied NBC Connecticut an outline of the state’s law regarding medical records.

According to state statute 19a-14-44 Discontinuance of Practice, patients must be informed.

“This must be done by placing a notice in a daily local newspaper published in the community, which is the prime focus of the practice. The notice shall appear twice, seven days apart. In addition, an individual letter is to be sent to each patient seen within the three years preceding the date of discontinuance of the practice. Medical records of all patients must be retained for at least sixty days following both the public and private notice to patients,” the law reads in part.

Read the full article here.

Inactive Company’s Applicant Personal Information Found in Dumpster

"MCALLEN - The local Attorney General’s Office is currently safekeeping personal information that was found in a dumpster.

A viewer notified CHANNEL 5 NEWS he found stacks of folders filled with information of people from the Rio Grande Valley.

David Aguilera Jr. spotted them when he was throwing away posters. He said piles of paper and folders were stacked from the middle to the bottom of the container.

“I was making room to put them in there, and when I moved the box a whole bunch of papers fell and I saw a picture ID of a license,” he said. “I grabbed it and there was another one at the bottom and another one.”

Among the trash were copies of people’s driver’s license and Social Security cards attached to job applications. Most of the paperwork belonged to people out of Brownsville.

Aguilera said the top of the applications listed a company called Millennium Solutions Inc.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS went to visit the address listed on the papers but the building was empty.

However, we later came across a Millennium Solutions Inc.’s social media page. The description said they’re dedicated to selling Time Warner Cable residential services.

Time Warner Cable is now called Charter Spectrum. A spokesperson for the company responded with the following statement:

“The security of personal information is of the outmost importance to us, and we’re looking into the situation.”

We also notified the Texas Attorney General’s Office out of McAllen. They sent an officer to check the dumpster out. The officer wasn’t authorized to do an on-camera interview, but he did say they will have to move the dumpster to a secure location and pick through it by hand to recover all personal information.

Aguilera said he decided to let someone know to save people from the unexpected.

“A lot of my family member’s friends have issues with identity theft. That’s what came to my mind,” he said."

Read the full article here.

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