Thousands of personal record files dumped in recycling bin

On Sunday morning, Karen and Scott Keith made their monthly stop at the Land O' Lakes Recycling center to drop off household recycling items.

When they looked at the paper bin it was not only full to the point of pushing up the lid, it was practically bursting at its seams. Inside were what looked to be thousands of pastel and manila file folders, all with neat tabs attached.

Curious, they pulled out a couple and were stunned to see that they appeared to be medical records, Karen Keith said.

The information inside the files included some that couldn't be more personal - or dangerous: Social Security numbers, copies of drivers' license numbers and even credit cards numbers, she said.

"If that was my stuff, I would not want somebody to go through a Dumpster and find it," Karen Keith, 40, said. "Somebody could definitely steal your identity in the least."

The Land O' Lakes couple called the Pasco County Sheriff's Office.

"I wouldn't want that to be out there for everyone to see," Karen Keith said. "It just seems wrong."

On Monday, detectives went out to investigate further, said sheriff's office spokesman Kevin Doll.

They office has not commented on whether it has definitely determined the origin of the files. The case has been turned over to the Florida Attorney General's Office, but Pasco detectives will assist, said Sandi Copes, a spokeswoman for the attorney general's office.

"Our primary focus is making sure the records are secure and people are notified," Copes said.

As soon as facility owner Cindy Glenn learned about the files, she had the recycling bin moved into a secured area. When the facility at 5710 Land O' Lakes Blvd is closed, patrons can still use the bins to recycle common household goods in an unsecured area outside the gate, she said.

When the business closed for the remainder of the weekend at noon Saturday, the bin was empty. So it was sometime after that the files were dumped.

Staff at the attorney general's office will try to determine where the records came from and assist in helping those individuals whose information was in the bin.

State law requires that once a company determines there has been a security breech with confidential personal information, it has 45 days to notify those who have been affected.

If the law is not followed, administrative penalties include fines of $1,000 for each day the breach goes undisclosed for up to 30 days. After that, it's $50,000 for each 30-day period it goes undisclosed for up to 180 days. It it continues beyond that, the fine could reach up to $500,000.

Glenn said that in her 21 years in the business, she's never seen files with such personal information dumped in their bins. "I appreciate people recycling, but they need to be more careful," she said Monday.

Though the area where the 24-hour bins are isn't under the watchful eye of a surveillance camera, the parking lot is, she said. Detectives will review the video to see whether they can identify a vehicle that might have been used to transport the files, Glenn said.

She said her business even offers shredding services for disposing of sensitive records. There's no excuse for what happened, she added.