From trash to trouble: a year since it took effect, the FTC's disposal rule, aimed at curbing identity theft, remains largely unknown--or unheeded.

Units, June, 2006 by Leshnower, Ron

Crumpling up a consumer report and tossing it in the trash is a violation of federal law. This isn't news--it's the point of the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) "disposal rule," and it has been on the books for a year.

The rule, which went into effect June 1, 2005, is meant to govern the way to dispose of consumer reports and any information derived from them. A "consumer report" is a document with information obtained from a company that compiles such reports that are used--or expected to be used--to establish a person's eligibility for certain purposes, most notably credit, employment, insurance or tenancy.

Apartment owners and management companies use consumer reports--including credit reports, credit scores, employment background checks and...

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