Admitted Identity Theft.

What is the name of your state? California

I just received a letter in the mail from my old apartment complex stating that some of my personal information was 'stolen' from the main office this month, and that it may have been misused by someone.

I contacted the detective on the case, and he said that my information was 'stolen' from a dumpster in the back. Apparently, the company had thrown away my file - I'm not sure if it was shredded or not, but apparently when the detective collected evidence at the suspect's location, they found my documents in their possession.

The detective said that if he were me, he would hire an attorney to take up this matter. Is there enough precedent in the courts and enough negligence by the apartment complex to pursue this further?

Thanks for any advice you have.

Except for littering what would you expect them to be liable for?

Because they found the information does not mean you were harmed in any way. I would seriously check my credit report frequently over the next few months (for new accounts and inquiries) and all bank statements carefully. If there is any unusual activity, deal with it immediately.

I doubt you have a tort against the apartments simply for not tossing their paperwork away properly. And based solely on what you posted, I don't see a criminal act (in CA).

Carl

I see...

I'm definitely of the mindset that if a frivolous lawsuit can avoided, then by all means.

My only concern is that I have been very wary of my personal information falling into the wrong hands. They singlehandedly may have just compromised my financial security. The way I see it, even though the suspects were apprehended, scummy people have scummy friends. I feel as if someone has opened a security hole. I've already had to order copies of my credit report from all three agencies, place fraud alerts on my CC's...it's not to say that others haven't been just as reckless with my personal information, it's just that this apartment complex got caught.

I just can't imagine that the courts haven't already seen cases like this - I'd love to know what the outcome was.

sfmacintosh said:

I'm definitely of the mindset that if a frivolous lawsuit can avoided, then by all means.

My only concern is that I have been very wary of my personal information falling into the wrong hands. They singlehandedly may have just compromised my financial security. The way I see it, even though the suspects were apprehended, scummy people have scummy friends. I feel as if someone has opened a security hole. I've already had to order copies of my credit report from all three agencies, place fraud alerts on my CC's...it's not to say that others haven't been just as reckless with my personal information, it's just that this apartment complex got caught.

I just can't imagine that the courts haven't already seen cases like this - I'd love to know what the outcome was.

Click to expand...

My response:

Of course "the courts" have dealt with this type of situation before. But, we're not going to get into "what if" scenarios with you. What IS more important for you, however, is that you make sure you haven't just been sitting on your hands, doing nothing to protect yourself now that you know that your "financials" may have been compromised.

Instead of waiting around, you have a duty to "mitigate" your potential damages; i.e., You need to be proactive. So, you need to immediately change your bank accounts, change your PIN numbers, and place your creditor's "on notice" - - that is, write and send them letters (make copies) explaining that they need to be "on the lookout" for unusual or high ticket purchases. Also, they need to be on the lookout for "out of area" purchases or transactions - - that is, if you've never been to Nebraska, a purchase made there "might" be a tip-off that something's awry.

IAAL

And am I correct to assume there is an open investagation criminal in nature against the party who was in possession of your information.

Your landlord or (previous) landlord should have a policy concerning the confidentialty of your information and a policy in the proper destruction of this information, have you called to inquire? As far as a liability issue that is a reach depending upon what type of landlord you had as in private or other.

and I see IAAL has answered you and you would be WELL advised to heed his advice.

Thank you

Your responses are respectfully appreciated. As for contacting everyone, that is actually what I'm doing today. I took a day off work just to make sure that everyone is notified. I didn't think about the 'lookout' part...I simply cancelled my cards and had new ones sent to me.

Thanks again.