Consumer body warns computers on eBay contain fraud data
People disposing of old computers should “smash hard drives to smithereens” to avoid falling victim to identity theft, warns consumer champion Which? Computing.
It says criminals trawl council tips and internet auction sites for PCs, and then recover deleted data with specialist software. This can be used to make a fraudulent credit card application, order a new phone, or apply for a copy of a birth certificate.
The consumer body bought eight second-hand hard drives from auction site eBay and found that they still held information that could be confidential. Using free software downloaded from the internet, it recovered 22,000 ‘deleted' files, including images, music files and spreadsheets.
Which says to remove the hard drive from the PC and destroy it with a hammer.
Sarah Kidner, Editor, Which? Computing says: "PCs contain more valuable personal information than ever as people increasingly shop online, use social networking sites and take digital photos. Even if you delete your files, you'd be surprised how easy it is to recover your personal data. Such information could bring identity thieves a hefty payday. "It sounds extreme, but the only way to be 100% safe is to smash your hard drive into smithereens."
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