"One man's trash is another man's treasure."
As a private investigator, I strongly warn you to be careful about what you throw away. In most places trash, once to the curb, can be looked through and taken. Private investigators love looking through trash, and most people have no idea how valuable it can be.
Pay attention to what you're throwing away, and always ask, "Could another person finding this use it against me?" Consider taking your trash to the dump to make it more difficult for people to go through it as well. The person going through it may be a thief, or they could be a private investigator. You see a bag of trash, but they see treasure.
Depending upon where you live, check the easement and/or right of way for your property; we have a neighbor that places trash cans on their (true) property, beyond that of the easement. We're rural, so there's no sidewalks and such. There are utility easements to mind - the savvy PI will likely know boundaries very clearly so it's important for us to know as homeowners.
They can see them with the cameras and also would force any curious hunters to first trespass - then taking from the trash becomes theft. It is not going to make the trash guys happy, but if you give them a nice gift card or a Benjamin - they'll likely not mind.
I noticed some of my neighbors trash cans were very far from the road and inquired and that's why! 😎I have a wood stove inside and fire pit outside - like many have mentioned that's a great way to get rid of old paper and such. I'm really not one for burning anything in either place that cannot be returned to the Earth. No plastics or synthetic materials. I use my ash for compost and flower beds (ash is high in phosphorus) and keeping the carbons in the mix.
Great insight from a true #LibertyProfessional
Thanks! Yes, this is valuable added information. Don't leave your trash cans out next to the road unless it is trash day for example. Keep the trash back and on your property. If you suspect someone is going through it, use a camera to record the activity. I'll have more on home cameras in the future!
Hey, thank you! See what happens when your buddy is a PI?! I've learned A LOT already and you're just getting warmed up @finnian. People will benefit greatly from the information you share, like I have already. That's a beautiful gift you share. Steem On! 🔥🚀
This is still very common. I have had some success looking in the bins on pentest projects. The bigger companies are educating people and giving them cross shredders est but its still not there yet.
Yeah, it is amazing what people throw away. Companies and individuals are equally guilty. It sounds like you do work I am interested in, so thanks and followed!
And also the recycle bins inside the local post office and around town are a bad place to put anything personal. Once you put it in the recycle bin its the property of whoever owns the bin. Great post!
That's also great added advice, thanks! A good example of this is cleaning out your car at a gas station. People will take old mail they have received and sorted through, and they put it in the gas station trash. Then the next person to drive up can look through that trash, or the employees can look through it.
My garbage is usually full of Chinese plastic as I burn most paper work. I keep a plastic grocery bag hangin' on a cabinet and fill it with all those CC apps and other junk with my info all over it to burn later. Me and my son burn it together once every couple o' weeks. Good quality time outside as he learns of fire. Paranoid some say but I can attest to my identity never being stolen. Good stuff brother. Always enjoy.
I miss having a fireplace and wood stove for that reason. I'd save the paper to help start fires. Thank you!
all my bank statements and personal documents go into the compost bin - the worms take care of the rest ;)
That's a great idea. Thanks for sharing it. I think I'd still be tempted to shred it first. haha
shredding first would be better for the worms also.
Don't want those worms getting loan applications in your name!
Book worms especially!
Best PI ever?
Haha! Oscar the Grouch was a great character. I watched that as a kid of course. :)
That made me chuckle.
Good advice, thanks for sharing. I try to keep my junk free of personal information, but I definitely fall short sometimes. Thankfully we make a bonfire in our backyard from time to time which helps promote getting rid of things permanently.
Thanks! Yes, burning is great if it is an option. Burn as much as you can as long as it is environmentally safe.
Great advice. We use a cross cut shredder at home. We even shred mailing labels. Just as an extra precaution.
Thanks! Yeah, people throw away all sorts of valuable stuff.
Corporations and government agencies do the same.
I agree 100% thanks for sharing..upvoted and followed
Thanks and followed back!
nice thanks
Thank you for the insight :) Perhaps you should consider using the new yunk tag :) If you haven't checked it out yet feel free to check out my post https://steemit.com/yunk/@therneau/opinion-what-is-the-new-yunk-hashtag-and-how-to-use-it-correctly and loads more in the yunk tag :) Cheers!!!
Stigmatatata from Lake Titicaca!
Noooo stigmatata. Just yunk :):)
Piccata? Titicaca! I am Cornholio! I need piccata for my bunghole!
I'm just beginning to learn about Yunk. I'll look into it further, thank you!
It is only a pleasure :) I'm sure your investigation will show that yunk is good. Here is another great article by @stellabelle which gives some more insight into the origin and originators :) https://steemit.com/yunk/@stellabelle/what-is-yunk
Been burning my sensitive papers for years. Right now we shred them first, then wait until we can have a wood fire in the fireplace this fall to permanently dispose of them. It seems silly thinking that someone might be rooting through my trash looking for information, but that's one of the ways they get you. Good tips!
It's a great habit to have. Thanks for the feedback and reply!
@finnian, this valuable information was definitely worth an upvote. Keep it up!
Thank you! I'm driving forward into this niche and will add a lot of valuable content to Steemit.
hahaha. you're a real private investigator. and you're right. trash can reveal lots of secrets about oneself.
Yes!
Sound advice!
My hubby was a victim of ID theft/fraud, although this is not how his started, I would advise everyone to listen. Once you have had your identity stolen it can take A LONG time to fix.
It was back in 2012, and we are still feeling repercussions from the crime.
Thanks for sharing what happened to you and him. This is one tip of many that people should use for identity protection. Sadly though it has become pretty easy for people to do it since so much is online these days. One thing people need to be sure of is that they have a quality antivirus program running on every PC and smart phone they use. I use and recommend ESET.
I've definitely been guilty of this. It's something you don't think about until it's too late.
Looking through the windows of a subject's parked motor vehicle has often proved useful to gain information (old envelopes, discarded wrappers/cups with logos, expired parking passes, notes, books and publications, and more).
Q: How do you eat an elephant?
A: One bite at a time.
Every little piece adds up.
Yes, this is another reason to use a UPS Store or other address for you registration and insurance card. You do not want your home address anywhere in the car in case it is stolen or rummaged through. As you said too, I often look through windows to see bills with the home address clearly displayed.