Ever apply for insurance of any kind? There is always a litany of paperwork and the process is always frustrating and somewhat demeaning. Insurer’s applications feel invasive and ask questions that require information that you may not even tell your mom.

What’s worse is they have to be given to another person who you often do not know. What’s even worse than that is you really have no control over what that agent will do with the information.

Private investigator William Cobra Staubs, was doing some dumpster diving conducting some “research” this week and happened upon a big box of discarded medical files and applications tossed there by what appears to be a Blue Cross Blue Shield agent who didn’t need them any longer. He found over 30 documents and approximately 50 Social Security numbers.

“Cobra”, as he is known is no stranger to controversy himself as a one-time Haleigh Cummings case investigator who accepted a plea deal in charges against him concerning his apprehension of a registered sex offender. He has also had intimate dealings in the OJ Simpson case. This is a guy to know.

Cobra determined who the agent was by finding a page from the agents “day planner”.

Personal identifying information is often collected by businesses and stored in various formats, both digital and traditional paper. With identity theft a growing problem in the country, many states have passed laws that require entities to destroy, dispose, or otherwise make personal information unreadable or undecipherable, in order to protect an individual’s privacy. At least 29 states, listed HERE, provide laws that govern the disposal of personal data held by businesses and/or government.  See also Security Breach Notification Laws and Identify Theft Statutes.