A situation spotted by a Newmarket resident on recycling collection day has prompted a reminder that you need to careful about what you put in your blue bins.
Darlene Mara said she was driving on Elgin Street near Leslie Street at about 7:20 a.m. yesterday when she saw a young man rooting about in a blue bin until he pulled out a large manila envelope. She said he then looked around, jumped into a small black car and sped off.
“You see guys going through the recycle bins looking for empty bottles of alcohol that they take back to the liquor store for money, but it was just very odd that he grabbed this envelope,” she said.
She said the situation on the residential street struck her as suspicious, so she called York Regional Police to file a report.
Police confirmed they received the report but said it is not uncommon for people to go through garbage or recycling and it’s not really a crime.
“Once somebody discards their garbage, it’s no longer really their property,” Const. Amy Boudreau said. “It’s a different story if somebody is actually going up on your porch and into your mailbox, obviously that’s a crime. You can’t be going through someone’s mail but someone going through garbage or recycling, there’s no offence for that.”
For Mara, it served as a reminder that you should watch what you toss.
Dumpster diving and mail theft is one way criminals can steal someone’s personal information to commit identity theft, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre confirmed.
Identity theft can then become identity fraud when that stolen information is used to commit a crime like accessing your bank account, fraudulently applying for loans or government benefits, or buying goods and services.
“The CAFC is noting an increase in identity fraud reporting. Fraudsters are using personal information about Canadians to apply for government benefits, credit cards, bank accounts, cellphone accounts or even take over social media and email accounts,” the centre said. “It is important that Canadians take steps to secure their personal and financial information and know what to do when identity fraud occurs.”
It recommends you shred personal and financial documents before disposing them, and always shred anything that contains your SIN.
York Regional Police offered the same advice to residents.
“We would tell people to make sure if they have personal information like envelopes, or I know it’s tax season, so if there’s anything with information or personal documents, you want to make sure those are shredded in case someone goes through your garbage,” Boudreau said.
Tear up or shred any personal documents, cut up old credit cards, and if you made any big or expensive purchases recently, break down the boxes or conceal them in a garbage bag as they can make you a target for robberies, she added.
