Texas is suing RadioShack after the retailer’s employees dumped thousands of customer records in garbage bins behind a store near Corpus Christi, Texas, on March 21. The records contained Social Security numbers, credit and debit card information, names, addresses and telephone numbers, according to investigators.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott late on Monday filed documents charging that RadioShack had violated a 2005 law—the 2005 Identity Theft Enforcement and Protection Act—requiring businesses to protect and properly destroy any consumer records that contain sensitive information, including Social Security and bank account numbers.
Click here to read more about the massive data breach at TJX.
RadioShack issued a statement saying that the Portland, Texas, store was out of line in this “isolated instance.” The Portland store is part of a shredding program that RadioShack uses throughout Texas to ensure that documents are destroyed according to Texas law. “In this isolated instance, the store did not act in accordance with this program,” according to the statement. RadioShack said it intends to work “amicably” with the Texas attorney general and that it takes seriously its obligation to maintain and safeguard company records, “especially when they contain a customer’s non-public information.” The retail company also said that it has moved quickly to reclaim and to secure the dumped documents.
The attorney general also charged RadioShack with violating Chapter 35 of the Business and Commerce Code, which requires businesses to develop retention and disposal procedures for clients’ personal information. That charge could translate into fines up to $500 for each dumped record.
