Orlando man looking for scrap metal finds thousands of financial documents in dumpster

ORLANDO, Fla. — An Orlando man searching for scrap metal Tuesday night reported finding thousands of financial documents ripe with people’s personal information tossed in a dumpster.

For identity thieves, the documents would have been a gold mine of information.

“(They contained) emails, phone numbers, date of birth, child’s date of birth, you name it,” said Jeff Strum, who found the documents. “Everything is there, even addresses and everything … bank information (including) how much they had in the bank, how much they put in the bank.”

Strum, who alerted law enforcement of his discovery, directed Channel 9 to where he found the documents.

One couple identified in some of the documents were too stunned to speak on camera, but said they were determined to find out how their personal information ended up in the trash.

Strum was glad he found the documents and not someone who might have used them to steal people’s identities.

“This is very valuable,” he said of the information. “I could have been a criminal, but I’m not.”

Cox Media Group