Trashing, the threat that searches through discarded documents to commit cyber scams

Documents that are sent to the electronic device trash or physical trash are at risk, as demonstrated by the threat of ‘trashing’which searches through the user’s trash to steal sensitive data and commit cyber scams.

‘Trashing’ or ‘dumpster diving’ are the English names given to the technique by which cybercriminals obtain sensitive information from their victims that they recover from the material they have discarded, such as invoices, package packaging or electronic devices, such as mobile phones or computers. .

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These documents and devices may contain sensitive information, such as the victim’s full name, address, telephone number, identification document, and bank account number, but also digital service credentials. All of this can later be used to carry out a cyber attack, as the Civil Guard warns in a publication shared on TikTok.

Specifically, the National Cybersecurity Institute (Incibe) indicates that the theft of this data can lead to the theft of the victim’s identity, the theft of money from their account or even extortion.

Basically, it’s the digital equivalent of snooping through someone else’s trash for malicious purposes, and in this case, it marries the physical and the digital. Cybercriminals take advantage of the trust of their victims, who believe that by throwing away or sending the documents to the trash they have already disposed of them.

For this reason, the Civil Guard has advised to “properly destroy” documents that contain personal data. One way to do this is by crossing out the data with a permanent marker or using a paper shredder or scissors, something that can also be used with bank cards and ID cards, as indicated by Incibe.

In the case of electronic devices, they point out that deleting files and documents that contain private information, or sending them to the trash, is not enough, and therefore they recommend using secure mechanisms for their elimination. They also advise using a tool that performs a secure erase, which prevents file recovery, if the devices are to be thrown away.