This is the title of an article I read in one of my marketing newsletters.  The article is definitely worth posting here as well, but I will put it into my own words and add some things that may be missing.  The actual article can be read by clicking here.

The article highlights the fact that while most of us believe that once we delete personal data from our cell phones, PDAs, and computers that it will be erased an inaccessible.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The personal data you store, such as social security numbers, bank information, and passwords, could be hacked into and stolen. 

Most of us have thrown away or turned in a hard drive or other device that had this information on it.  What's worse is that many of us may even have thrown that device away without even trying to erase the information.  Bottom line is that many Americans will lose their identity due to their innocent belief that their data was securely erased.

PDAs and cell phones are now leading the pack in the types of devices that get trashed or turned in without having the data securely erased.  The reason for this is due to their technology being similar to small computers that people use to store all this data to keep as a handy quick reference when needed.  They are rarely kept longer than 2 years (the article says the average is abotu 1.5) due to upgrades and service agreement changes. 

Most of us take the time to delete the information we had stored, but the reality is all you did was delete the "path" leading to that file.  Just like computers, the file is not actually deleted, it just becomes inaccessible since it is no longer "pointed to".  Hackers can use advanced software to resurrect this data easily.  The article mentions that 85% of the cell phones and PDAs had data that could be recovered.

The solution to the problem is fairly simple and requires only a few additional steps.  A good resource can be found at www.wirelessrecycling.com and click "Cell Phone Data Eraser".  After inputting the phone's manufacturer and model, you can download the instructions to permanently delete the phone's data.  If your device is not listed, you can also contact the device's manufacturer and ask them how to do it.

Please take them time to do a little extra diligence to permanently delete your device's data and help protect your identity.  It is a much smaller price to pay in the long run.