Article published October 30, 2007
Mortgage loan files found in recycle bin
Dick Eppstein, president of the Better Business Bureau of Northwestern Ohio and Southeastern Michigan, filled his vehicle with Alpha Mortgage loan applications that he retrieved from a recycling bin behind a Kroger store on Sylvania Avenue.
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THE BLADE/LORI KING
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By LAREN WEBER
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Before Betty Macias throws junk mail or old bills in the garbage, she cuts out her name and address in an attempt to prevent identity theft.
When the South Toledo resident was told yesterday that her mortgage loan file was found in a large recycling bin behind a Kroger store on Sylvania Avenue, she was appalled.
"Oh my heavens," the 73-year-old said. "That is disgusting."
Hundreds of Alpha Mortgage loan application files containing personal information, including Social Security numbers, copies of driver's licenses, tax returns, and payroll statements were thrown into a recycling bin Friday, said Dick Eppstein, president of the Better Business Bureau of Northwestern Ohio and Southeastern Michigan.
Alpha Mortgage is no longer in business.
Faye Wenzlick, an employee of the Better Business Bureau, makes weekly trips to the Lucas County Solid Waste Management recycling center just down the road from the BBB office on King's Pointe Road in Sylvania Township.
Hundreds of files, including copies of driver's licenses, tax returns, payroll statements, and other information, were retrieved.
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While there Friday afternoon, a man told Ms. Wenzlick, who was wearing a shirt with the Better Business Bureau emblem, that a few people had just dumped numerous mortgage application files into the recycling bin.
She notified Mr. Eppstein, who grabbed a step stool and three other employees and went to the recycling bin to retrieve the files.
The bin was filled to the top with inch-thick mortgage application files, making it an easy target for someone wanting to steal several people's identity, Mr. Eppstein said.
"Somebody with a larceny heart finding those could have had a field day," he said.
In Ohio, nearly 7,000 residents reported they were victims of identify theft last year, with more than 245,000 victims nationwide, according to the Federal Trade Commission,
Of those, 25 percent of Ohioans reported their identity was stolen as a result of phone or utility fraud, while just 4 percent reported loan fraud, according to the trade commission's report.
Mr. Eppstein and the other employees climbed into the bin and began loading the files into their vehicles. He filled the back of his minivan and two other car trunks with loan application files, Mr. Eppstein said.
Even then, several hundred more files remained in the bin, he said.
Jim Walters, manager of Lucas County Solid Waste Management District, said he was concerned when he was informed of the incident yesterday.
Mr. Walters said he would have sent someone to load up the files in a truck and take them to a secure location to either be retrieved or destroyed if he had been told sooner.
He said the agency is installing cameras at a few of the 15 drop-off centers throughout the county. Technical issues have delayed the process, he said.
Mr. Eppstein said he has contacted the Lucas County Prosecutor's Office to see if it wants to prosecute the individuals who disposed of the files. He said his phone calls weren't returned yesterday.
If the prosecutor's office tells Mr. Eppstein there is no reason to keep the files, he said he will properly destroy all of them by feeding them through a paper shredder.
"Nothing is a worse crime than when somebody steals your identity," he said.
Contact Laren Weber at: lweber@theblade.com or 419-724-6050.
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