Box o' private data

November 27, 2007 6:47 AM

I have accidentally come into possession of someone's private data. Now what?

I've been looking for a used Verizon phone for a little bit now, so that I can activate it on the Page Plus prepaid wireless network. The other day, I found one at a thrift store. Nice phone, works great, in its original box, and it was only $10.

When I got home, however, I pulled the owner's manual out of the box, and there was a piece of paper in it. It was a customer data sheet. On this sheet was a guy's name, his address, his phone number, his birth date, and his social security number. Basically everything you would not want to fall into a stranger's hands.

So what should I do? Should I just shred it and incinerate the cuttings? Should I call the guy and let him know what's happened? Or some other course of action?

posted by anonymous to Human Relations (22 answers total)

Just throw it away.
posted by hermitosis at 6:50 AM on November 27, 2007 [1 favorite]

I would shred it. While I know I would want to know if such a breach of my privacy occurred, you can never predict a person's reaction to finding out - they might turn around and suspect you of something.

Shred. Incinerate. Forget.
posted by frwagon at 6:52 AM on November 27, 2007 [2 favorites]

Certainly shred the info or burn it.

You can think about calling him and letting him know about what happened, so that he can be more careful in the future, but think also about the possibility that he might irrationally decide that you're doing something wrong, or planning to.
posted by OmieWise at 6:53 AM on November 27, 2007

If it's a Verizon document, you might want to let Verizon know that you found it when you purchased a used phone at the thrift store. Verizon had legal obligations about how they handle sensitive customer data. They probably gave the print out to the original owner as part of the transaction, but their legal department might want to reconsider that practice.

If it's just something the previous owner stashed there, I'd just incinerate and forget it.
posted by crush-onastick at 7:01 AM on November 27, 2007 [1 favorite]

Actually, I'd give it to the police. For example, if you were in California, this would probably fall afoul of California Senate Bill 1386. While SB 1386 appears to only apply to electronic data on initial inspection, paper printouts of electronic data are normally considered covered under these sorts of laws.

Let the cops track down if this is some sort of systemic issue. They may not care, but then at least you tried.
posted by bfranklin at 7:05 AM on November 27, 2007

Give the guy a call. You don't have to reveal your name, He may be worrying about where that ended up, and an anonymous call explaining things would cost you nothing. Then shred it in peace.
posted by Neiltupper at 7:08 AM on November 27, 2007

Verizon is taking people's social security numbers? Geez.
posted by amtho at 6:53 AM on November 27 [+] [!]


Yes, they do need your social to activate service. Just like any other utility that one would subscribe for. What phone company do you have?
posted by special-k at 7:09 AM on November 27, 2007

I was in a similar situation a few years ago.
I received a letter in the mail from a university I did not attend, asking if I was a certain guy with the same name as me, in order to update their records.

They included his social security number, parents' names, last known address, etc etc. Enough information with which I could do something seriously harmful (since that's the name that legitimately appears on my ID).

I ended up contacting the alumni association to inform them of their mistake, and trying to contact the guy (to no avail), but I eventually just shredded the information and moved on.
posted by jozxyqk at 7:11 AM on November 27, 2007

Contacting the guy won't give him any peace of mind. Right now he doesn't necessarily know that someone out there has his info. If you contact him, he'll know that there is someone out there who DEFINITELY has his info, who CLAIMS to intend to destroy it. But how can he be sure?

Dispose of it thoroughly and don't give it another thought. These things happen.
posted by hermitosis at 7:22 AM on November 27, 2007 [2 favorites]

Hermitosis, you don't know what hes thinking. He could be worried sick that she sold his phone at a yard sale and forgot to remove the paper, or he could be happy in his own ignorance.

If it were me, I would want to be informed so I could be more careful.

Further, this sounds like a hand written info on a pre printed sheet, not a "print out" from verizon.

Amtho, yea verizon does ask for your social to get phone service, as do most providers and uitlities however Special K, you can refuse any request and provide a sizeable deposit if you wish not to share this info.
posted by crewshell at 7:46 AM on November 27, 2007

Throw it away and forget about it. If you notify him you become suspect #1 in any ID theft type issues he may have in the future.
posted by COD at 7:46 AM on November 27, 2007

One guy's private data is not worth adding load to the system, IMO. If it was a full hard drive or a box of records, sure. Just shred it.
posted by scalefree at 7:51 AM on November 27, 2007

If it were my data, I'd prefer you just shred it and not tell me about it. I understand the benefits of calling the person to let them know what happened, but I think I'd personally be more worried than thankful.
posted by mjgrady at 8:26 AM on November 27, 2007

I wanted to add...

No one knows whos hands this information has passed through before you. By not letting the person know his info was floating around out there you are actively withholding info from him. Info he could choose to disregard or info he could choose to use and to begin watching his credit report because of.

You could save this man alot of grief by allowing him to decide what action to take...

If I were the guy I would like to know, even if it caused some worry I'd rather have the option to prevent a problem or catch one early then to live in my lala land why my credit and finacial future is severly harmed. It may not be the EASIEST course of action on your part, but doing the right thing rarely is.

(P.S sorry to be so doom and gloom, but so many peoples lack of apathy was getting a bit under my skin)
posted by crewshell at 8:36 AM on November 27, 2007

How about just mailing it to him, without a return address? He'll have his info back, and you'd do the right thing about giving it back to the ritghtful owner.

I agree that he may be worried sick wehere this info ended up.

Just another thought.
posted by adriana at 8:37 AM on November 27, 2007

Me, I'd probably drop it in the mail to him anonymously with a note that says "This paper looks like it might have some important notes of yours, so I didn't want you to lose it. (It was in the box of a used cell phone.)" Equal parts cluelessness and "here's your property back." Channel some grandmother type who has never even heard of identity theft but wants him to have his piece of paper.
posted by salvia at 8:38 AM on November 27, 2007 [2 favorites]

By letting this person know their personal info may have been compromised, they could then register a fraud alert with the bureaus or sign up for credit monitoring services to protect themselves.

Not that I think the worry about this person's reaction is unfounded, but I know I would appreciate the courtesy.
posted by kableh at 8:41 AM on November 27, 2007

Do you know how many times your "private" information pops up on a screen somewhere, every day? To me, this is like going to a bowling alley and obsessively washing your hands every time you touch the chips and buffalo wings, but gladly sticking your hands in the balls when it's your turn to toss 'em down the lane. No sense there. Just throw the paper away and be done with it.
posted by iamkimiam at 9:19 AM on November 27, 2007 [1 favorite]

I'd worry about mailing it back to him... what if it gets lost in the mail, or delivered to the wrong address? I'd hate to have my personal information floating around out in the US mail system.

I would maybe contact this person to let them know what happened, and then offer to shred it.
posted by polyester.lumberjack at 9:31 AM on November 27, 2007

"Yes, they do need your social to activate service. Just like any other utility that one would subscribe for. What phone company do you have?"

We do have cellular companies that don't require your SSN. T-Mobile has plans, and neither does MetroPCS or Cricket.

OP: Shred the document and forget about it. For all you know, the person listed died and that's why their stuff was at a thrift store. Just trash it and move on.
posted by drstein at 10:21 AM on November 27, 2007

I agree with shred it and forget it.

if you make yourself known to this person, for the rest of his life he'll assume you are behind any future instances of identity theft, misuse of credit or anything else you can think of that may happen to a person involving their personal information, no matter how honest you really are.

Even if he "knows" you shredded it, it's human nature to suspect the worst. What if he's Joe Litigious? Would you want to be on his radar for years to come?
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 10:27 AM on November 27, 2007

Me, I'd probably drop it in the mail to him anonymously with a note that says "This paper looks like it might have some important notes of yours, so I didn't want you to lose it. (It was in the box of a used cell phone.)" Equal parts cluelessness and "here's your property back." Channel some grandmother type who has never even heard of identity theft but wants him to have his piece of paper.

This is pretty much exactly what I was going to say. Nthing that he may be worried as all heck about where this piece of paper is.

If the person is deceased, their family will still open their mail.

If you send the mail without an return address, there's no way for him to blame you for future identify theft.

For the price of a stamp, you can do the nice thing without risking anything.
posted by desuetude at 11:08 AM on November 27, 2007 [1 favorite]