The saying goes that technology moves at the speed of light. That means every time we get a new laptop, cell phone, TV or anything else electronic, pretty soon there is a new and better one out there. This leads to millions of Americans throwing their technology in the trash, giving it away or dropping it for recycling each year. This also leads to hundreds of identity thieves getting their hands on old data on people’s discarded cell phones and computers and with 9.9 million identity theft victims in 2009 we don’t need to make it easy for these crooks.
BT’s Security Research Centre conducted a study where it looked at the content of 300 hard disks in machines that were resold and found that 34% of them still contained personal information on them from the previous owners. In fact, one machine even had confidential details about a U.S. military mission. Others contained bank numbers, medical information and financial data. There were even some personal identification numbers.
Does the thought of discovering these “gems†on a machine make these identity thieves head to eBay and computer shows? You bet it does! They can save money on a phone or PC and get personal information thrown in free of charge! They may also show up at yard sales and even at the local landfill or recycling center.
Before you start stockpiling your old hard drives and cell phone cards in your basement, turn to these tips instead:
• If you have the technical knowhow, use a wiping program to clear the data off the partitions on your hard drive and replace it with 1s and 0s. Simply deleting the files is not enough if you do not copy over them with new data.
• If you are less computer savvy, like most of us, remove the memory and hard drive from the machine and drill two to four holes in it in strategic places. A titanium bit works best.
• Take the memory cards out of the cell phones you wish to discard and break them up unless you plan to use them in another phone.
• Delete your address book and any other personal information you have saved on the phone itself. Then contact the phone’s manufacturer for detailed instructions on what to do next.
Note that you do not need to destroy the actual phone or computer. If you do, you’re really defeating the purpose if you were planning on reselling them. All you need to do is get rid of the memory, not the hardware. Then the next user can get right on the machine and start working with it with a clean slate.
The final thing you need to do is check any paperwork you’ll be packing with the phone or computer. Did you write your Microsoft password on the sleeve for the restore disk, for example? Did you scribble important numbers on the inside of your cell phone’s case?
It would just be silly to waste all that time wiping the memory and then end up giving away your information anyway because of an oversight it would have taken two seconds to correct. Sadly, this happens every day – though now it will not happen to you. It’s these easily overlooked mistakes that make identity theft insurance a necessity in today’s age.
Though one can never fully protect themselves there are many steps we can take to reduce our chances of becoming the next victim. One easy way is to purchase identity theft protection but this should not be all you do, you must remain aware of how your identity can be stolen and vigilant in not letting it happen.
If you believe you may become a victim due to some previous mistakes or perhaps through a data breach letter where you were informed your personal information was compromised then you should also place a fraud alert on your credit file by contacting one of the main credit bureaus. You may even consider freezing your credit accounts.