Comments on: Garbage pickers – identity thieves?

By: Hobo Bags

Hobo Bags — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 04:47:19 +0000

I think corporations and business handling personal information with care is good, but people need to do this at home as well. Dumpster divers also go through trash cans; many have the trash pick-up routes down pat and their own schedules as to when they’ll be in each neighborhood.

By: Tricia

Tricia — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:04:45 +0000

Case Ernsting no they didn’t look homeless. They were picking through garbage for a side income either collecting bottles or metals or perhaps trying to find ways to steal peoples identity!

By: Case Ernsting

Case Ernsting — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:45:45 +0000

While I agree this stuff happens all the time, you were right to have concern. If they didn’t look homeless and were snooping about late at night, something is awry and it makes sense to call the police.

By: Compare Identity Theft Protection Services

Compare Identity Theft Protection Services — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 01:51:47 +0000

Yep- this happens all the time. I have even heard of cases of would be identity thieves picking through unlocked garbage cans outside of government buildings- how scary is that! You are doing all the right things by being conscious of keeping sensitive information like financial documents out of the garbage can. That being said, its too bad that this is something we have to worry about!

By: There’s people picking through my garbage each week | Tricia's Musings

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:58:09 +0000

[...] wrote about people picking through actual garbage back in April because I suspected those people were looking for credit card receipts or bank slips. [...]

By: Jen

Jen — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 11:48:45 +0000

That’s crazy. I would highly recommend (if you already aren’t doing it) that you pick up a nice paper shredder and shred any mail that has your name, address, etc. on it before throwing away. It’s scary what people can do with the data they find in our trash.

By: Tricia

Tricia — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:05:31 +0000

Margaret – No they weren’t picking the garbage for food. Here in Toronto our garbage is picked up in three phases.

Each week there is a green garbage pick up – this contains food scraps, paper towels and other garbage that will break down quickly and easily.

Bi-weekly recycling is picked up and on alternate biweekly periods actual garbage is picked up. the biweekly “garbage” usually only contains items that are not recyclable such as plastic bags, other plastics that aren’t recyclable, Styrofoam containers and so on. No food.

This past Tuesdays garbage consisted of green garbage, recyclable garbage and yard waste (leaves etc).

The two guys weren’t going through the green garbage so that rules out people picking for food – which definitely doesn’t happen in this area. They were going through the “garbage” so unless they wanted to pick up a bunch of plastic grocery bags the only real things of value they might have found in the garbage would be personal data. That’s why i think they were possible identity thieves.

By: San francisco giants

San francisco giants — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 18:29:04 +0000

There were people in our town found with garbage bags in their cars cause they were stealing trash for this reason.

By: mark

mark — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 16:53:23 +0000

It’s pretty safe to say that they were looking for stuff to use for identity theft. Ive had this problem before and I told the men that I knew what they were doing and if I ever saw them again I would call the police. We never had a problem with those two again. Be safe.

By: bokjae

bokjae — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 01:57:56 +0000

Hey trish, better be safe than sorry! Good thinking there! Our world is such a violent place now and at any moment danger strikes! Keep safe!