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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><A
href="http://www.komotv.com/news/local/14449977.html">http://www.komotv.com/news/local/14449977.html</A></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV class=storybody>SEATTLE -- One man went dumpster-diving and discovered a
company he trusted trashed his personal information in a public dumpster where
anyone could have snatched them up. <BR><BR>Steve Gillett of Seattle said Visa
Services Northwest threw out the sensitive documents instead of shredding them.
<BR><BR>The documents, which ended up in a downtown alley, included papers with
Gillett's name, social security number, credit card information and even a copy
of his signature. <BR><BR>Gillett's private information, as well as those of
hundreds of others, had been dumped by the travel services company.
<BR><BR>"This firm was throwing away in a public bin more information than my
wife knows about me," Gillett said. <BR><BR>Xiaoli Ding, the owner of the
company, claims what Gillett found was the result of an isolated incident.
<BR><BR>He says he keeps his clients' personal information for year, then
destroys the files properly. Then he shreds the sensitive documents and recycles
the rest. <BR><BR>"Obviously, we accidentally dumped that particular file in the
recycle bin," he said. <BR><BR>Even so, Ding said, the documents are safe in the
bin since the business is located on an upper floor of the building where the
public doesn't typically visit. <BR><BR>But the trouble is, the papers don't
stay there. <BR><BR>Everything in that recycle bin on the upper floor eventually
ends up in an alley way nearby; it's brought to another dumpster in a very
public place. <BR></DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV class=storybody><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>Michael Hill <BR>Certified
Identity Theft Risk Management Specialist<BR>IDT
Consultants<BR>404-216-3751</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV class=storybody><FONT face=Arial size=2><BR>"If You Think You're Not At
Risk, Think Again!"</FONT></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>