TOPEKA, Kan. (Legal Newsline) — Central Regional Dental Testing Service Inc. will pay a $70,000 civil penalty and reimburse the attorney general’s costs after allegations it illegally dumped personal documents, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced.
The company allegedly placed files in an unsecured dumpster outside of its offices. According to claims, the files contained personal information for people looking to obtain dental licenses through the company. The files purportedly included names, social security numbers, birthdates, addresses, medical history, x-rays and other personal information. Nine hundred files in total were found.
“Kansas law imposes a duty to properly dispose of customers’ personal information when business files are no longer to be retained,” Schmidt said. “Dumping sensitive records in an unsecured trash receptacle, where people’s personal information is readily exposed, does not constitute proper disposal.”
In addition to the civil penalty, the company will pay the cost of properly destroying the records.
“Identity theft is a serious national problem, including in Kansas,” Schmidt said. “The best way to address identity theft is to avoid it by properly securing personal identifying information before the identity thieves can get hold of it.”