Report: Drivers’ info tossed in trash

COLUMBUS (AP) — Employees for the state’s Bureau of Motor Vehicles are apparently tossing documents containing drivers’ Social Security numbers into trash bins, an Ohio television station reported Thursday.

An investigation by WBNS-TV found discarded documents containing about three dozen discernible Social Security numbers in trash bins at 10 BMV offices across the state, including several offices in the Columbus area.

The papers also listed drivers’ names, addresses and birth dates.

In 2007, the BMV investigated a deputy registrar in the Akron area who threw out personal information regarding 35 people. Ohio Public Safety Director Henry Guzman says deputy registrars are supposed to shred sensitive documents and use locked trash containers.

The state is investigating the problem, but with more than 200 deputy registrars, officials don’t have time to search every trash bin, Guzman said.

WBNS investigated 24 BMV locations in six counties.