Dumpster-Diving for Your Identity

The NYT magazine has a story titled Dumpster-Diving for Your Identity - the author interviews two convicted identity thieves talking about their methods and successes.

I tried, really!

[RobertB-DC]

I tried to use Google News [google.com] to find a registration-free link. No luck. Will this do?

Dumpster-diving bears at greater risk [cjonline.com]

It's not about bears stealing your identity, though I pity the bear that applies for a Visa card with a FICO [myfico.com] as bad as mine! But it is an interesting tale:

Then there are the people: One older woman set out a batch of syrup-slathered pancakes for the bears, and some parents smeared peanut butter on their children's faces so they could photograph cubs licking it.

Where's Darwin [darwinawards.com] when you need him?

But...

[The-Bus]

What if all your bills are past due? Then it doesn't matter. It's like that old joke (or is it a scene from a movie?)...

"A thief stole my credit card and has been using it for the past couple of months."
"Oh my! Why haven't you reported it?"
"Because it still works out to be cheaper than me using it!"

Burn Them.

[vspazv]

This is the reason i have a fireplace in addition to central heat and air. Well, that and the fact that i like making smores.

Well...

[EdgeShadow]

Shredders are a form of technology, last time I checked. And, seeing as how this story comes straight from the "buy-a-shredder" department, it is directly related to shredders and is thus quite applicable to technology in general.

Go buy a shredder and port Linux to it today!

How ironic

[Rosco P. Coltrane]

The New-York "registration required" Times running an article on people fishing for other people's personal information, that's amusing ...

Re:avoid recycling bins for financial mail

[Anonymous Coward]

It helps to also shit in your garbage can. That should drive most thieves away. I think it's best to layer your shit. You know, throw in some garbage, shit on top of it, then throw in another layer of garbage... and continue so on. But don't shit on the topmost layer, we want for the dumpster divers to reach in and find a surprise! (wink)

Dumpster Diving for MY identity?

[Metallic Matty]

Why do I need to do that? I know who I am..

Re:avoid recycling bins for financial mail

[Anonymous Coward]

This is the most useful household hint that can be gleaned from slashdot. May I recommend that a round of delicious Mexican cuisine preceed this glorious endeavour?

Re:Well...

[NanoGator]

"Go buy a shredder and port Linux to it today!"

Linux is still a little behind Windows in the document destruction department.

Re:Punishment != Harm Caused

[merikus]

Well, you know, you have to keep all those pot users in lock up for five-to-ten. Imagine what *they* would do if they got out!

Re:OK.....

[NanoGator]

"How, exactly does this apply to technology? Am I mistaken by assuming this is a "news for nerds" website? Oh well..."

Hmmm... I can't find the word technology in the phrase "news for nerds, stuff that matters." I even tried CTRL + F. No luck. I'm having serious trouble finding the source of your complaint here. Help?

Re:Shredding doesn't offer much protection either.

[Radical Rad]

Quick question...since personal shredders are only $30, why does your company use the shredding service at all?

$30 personal shredders won't handle many items such as old badges, bernoulli disks, floppies, backup tapes, CD's, last year's Xmas fruitcake, whistleblowers, etc.

Re:Punishment != Harm Caused

[gblues]

I'll tell you what they'd do: single-handedly revive the bread market that's starting to suffer because of people starting the Atkins diet.

Nathan

Re:Compost them, don't burn them!

[irokitt]

Right on. I have a doberman, and I don't even have to deal with the Jehovah's Witnesses!

Dumpster Diving Moose, Too!

[Colymbosathon ecplec]

Here's a story about Moose getting into peoples garbage. [alaska-freegold.com]

""Initially they were Dumpster diving (a few years ago), but now they've actually progressed into tearing open black garbage bags in cans that don't have lids," said Jessy Coltrane, the assistant area biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. "When moose start getting into garbage, they're almost worse than bears because they're pretty persistent about it."

Re:avoid recycling bins for financial mail

[anthony_dipierro]

Each form had the person's name, date of birth, Social Security number -- all the information necessary for taking out a line of credit.

Interesting. William Henry Gates, III, 539-60-5125, October 28, 1955. Now, how do I take out that line of credit?

Re:Dumpster Diving Moose, Too!

[Aussie]

My sister got bitten by a moose once.

A memory hole in every wall

[kiltedtaco]

I'm looking to get a memory hole installed in my house actualy.

Dumpster-diving for my identity!?!?

[soybean]

Dumpster-diving is my identity!

I cant believe you people...

[ArcticCelt]

I cant believe you people don't simply get the free registration to New York times Magazine. This article is very useful to help you protect your identity. To register you just have to give your email, gender, zip code, date of birth, address, industry in which you work, household income range, job title, credit card number, ATM nip and the last ten years of data of your tax income.

Actually...

[twoslice]

It is a well known fact that if you keep crumpling up a piece of paper over and over, it gets so soft you can use it as asswipe. Let someone try to get the information off that!

Re:SLASHDOT PERSONALS???

[Amiga Lover]

Yes, slashdot personals. It's part of the new OSDN - Open Source Dating Network.

Dating must go by the GPL - General Personal License, where if you date someone, you may only continue to date them if they may also date others. This however, is not a viral license. If you already have a partner and pick up another GPL'd partner you need not give up your original partner.

It's really quite simple.

My solution is better

[John Courtland]

Having abhorrently bad credit is the best way to protect your financial assets. No one is going to get a credit card under MY name, that's for damn sure.

Easy way to do it is to not pay a utility at an old residence (People's Energy is trying to extort $50 for the 0.07 therms of natural gas I used at my last apartment, and they will never see a dime of it. And no, I'm not kidding about the 7/100ths of a therm.)

Actually, we use rodents.

[Anonymous Coward]

No, really. Three gerbils = 1 5-year-old in terms of destructive capacity. Just feed sheets of paper into the cage, and stand back. It takes a little longer, but you still end up with confetti.

Having a security clearance, I can vouch for the fact that few techniques that don't involve fire destroy documents so thoroughly as rodents.

Re:I tried, really!

[gnu-generation-one]

You don't need a google news link. Just pick it up from the trash at the back of the NYTimes building

only a desperate many could get my info

[Anonymous Coward]

i always throw personal info shreaded into the bottom of the bag i empty the cat litter into. If someone wants it THAT bad they can have it

Tweakers vs. Shredders

[Anonymous Coward]

From the article... "Like many identity-theft rings in the United States, Massey and Melton's enterprise employed scores of petty criminals addicted to methamphetamine. "It's a very typical combination," Hoar, the federal prosecutor, explained. "The meth user tends to be more prone to this type of behavior than other drug users." To a person on meth, tasks that might otherwise seem boring -- like sorting thousands of tax forms or reconstructing shredded patient records -- are said to become oddly enthralling. Meth could turn slackers into hyperefficient paper pushers."

Dangers involved

[mummers]

I know some people jump off cliffs to prove their manliness and others off of buildings for the sheer thrill of it. I cannot understand why someone would willingly dive into a dumpster to find their true self. And from what height are people diving? Serious injury or even death could result with an impact into solid material.

Just consider what could happen if you dived into a seemingly benign dumpster only to encounter a used drug addicts needle. The number of possible infections you could catch just don't bear thinking about.

I for one believe that this potentially lethal sport should be strictly regulated as soon as possible. Venues could be provided with deep dumpsters filled with sanitised foam cubes and safe diving platforms.

Please people, if you feel the need to dive into a public dumpster, or even your own, to 'discover' your identity, stop and think. It's just not worth the potential damage you could cause yourself and the resulting heartache for your friends and relations.