ID THEFT RISK AS STAFF AT TIP CLEAN UP

18:00 - 23 August 2007

People who dispose of old computers at a council tip have been put at risk of identity theft due to staff flogging the discarded items for profit.
Undercover television reporters were shown buying computers full of personal details from the Black Rock Quarry Recycling Centre in Portishead.
The reporter, from current affairs show Biteback, was secretly filmed buying five computers from a workman who told him if he dropped a £10 note on the floor by the drinks machine he could take as many computers as he wanted.

The programme, aired on ITV on Monday evening, claimed reporters had obtained computers from the site on two other occasions.

When the computers were tested by experts, a huge amount of personal information was found, including bank details, investment statements, job applications, holiday pictures and hotel bookings.
Identity fraud is estimated by the Home Office to cost the UK economy £1.7 billion per year and thieves are adopting increasingly sophisticated techniques to get information.
Victims can end up thousands of pounds in debt and be locked into a nightmare web of financial and legal problems which take years to resolve.

The Black Rock site is run by Viridor on behalf of North Somerset Council.

Viridor, which operates 25 landfill sites and hundreds of waste-processing sites around the country, hit back at the programme makers, saying it is up to all residents who leave computers at the site to ensure all personal data is removed.
A spokesman for North Somerset Council said: "Since October 2006, our waste contractors Viridor have put in place new arrangements which prohibit the exchange of money for goods at our household recycling centres.

"We are investigating this issue with Viridor, and the individual who has broken this arrangement has been removed from the site.
"Any further evidence of this behaviour will be dealt with accordingly.
"We are in the process of installing new signs at our household recycling centres.
"This will include clear notices at the entrance to each site to state no goods can be sold from there.
"We will also install signage at the points where electrical items are collected which states residents should ensure all personal data is removed from items prior to their disposal.
"North Somerset Council cannot be responsible for data left on any computers or equipment disposed of at any of these sites."

Clevedon computer expert, David Till, of DTechnics, Hill Road, said short of smashing the hard drive with a hammer, the only way to guarantee deleting sensitive information was to get an expert to wipe it clean.

He said: "Owners assume that because saved data has been deleted from the hard drive that passwords, bank details, credit card numbers and other personal information have been eliminated for ever, but this is far from the truth."

For a full interview with David Till and more advice on disposing of your computer safely see our website, www.thisisclevedon.co.uk .
 

Extract From Card Sent 17 July 2005

Dear David,

We would just like to thank you for all your help and advice, not only for sorting out the right computer for our needs but also for the expert

installation and answering the subsequent questions.

Ralph and Iris