FACTA. The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 contains a number of provisions intended to combat consumer fraud and related crimes, including identity theft, and to assist its victims. It enforces the proper destruction of consumer information, such as name, address, SSN, and credit information. Specifically the act requires the destruction of any papers containing consumer information. All businesses are bound by FACTA. For more information, please explore the following links:

Step by Step Guide to Becoming FACTA Compliant

Quiz: Are you FACTA Compliant?

HIPAA. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulates the healthcare industry in the U.S. and assures that organizations will be responsible for the secure electronic transmission, storage and disposal of patient information. For more information, please explore the following links:

Official HIPAA website

Will HIPAA put Doctor's in the Big House?

GLBA. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 mandates that financial institutions that obtain nonpublic personal information through the normal course of their business must develop precautions to ensure the security and confidentiality of customer records and information, and to protect against unauthorized access to or use of such records. This includes secure storage, disposal, and sharing of confidential information. Who must comply with the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act: banking and credit issuing providers, insurance providers, and stocks, bonds, investing and financial service providers. For more information, please explore the following links:

FTC Publication

EEA. The Economic Espionage Act makes the theft or misappropriation of trade secrets a criminal offense. Taking papers from dumpsters outside offices is called "dumpster diving" and is a common tactic used by commercial information brokers as well as foreign intelligence services. It involves collecting and going through the trash left out for collection from residences and businesses. Stealing trash is not illegal. The Supreme Court ruled in 1988 that once an item is left for trash pickup, there is no expectation of privacy or continued ownership. Who is affected by EEA: U. S. Citizens and general businesses handling sensitive data in hardcopy.