White Rock shredding company investigated by privacy watchdog, claims it was set up by disgruntled employee
Posted March 21, 2019 6:12 pm.
Last Updated March 22, 2019 1:17 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
WHITE ROCK (NEWS 1130) — A White Rock-based shredding company accused of improperly storing unshredded private documents — like bank records and medical tests — and even casino playing cards, is now being investigated by B.C.’s privacy watchdog.
RELATED: Casino cuts ties with shredding company, BCLC makes new rules for destroying playing cards
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of B.C. launched its investigation after a whistleblower tipped off NEWS 1130 to unlocked bins of intact documents outside of the company’s Surrey facility. The company is also currently being investigated by industry regulator the National Association for Information Destruction. The B.C. Lotteries Corporation also investigated the company and its casino customers.
But ShredWise says it has evidence the whole thing was staged.
In a letter from its lawyer, the company says it has video footage of an employee — who it believes is the whistleblower – putting documents in the unlocked bins.
RELATED: Discovery of casino playing cards ‘disturbing,’ raises fraud concerns: B.C.’s Attorney General
ShredWise has not yet shared that video with NEWS 1130, but says it has turned it over to Mounties.
For their part, the whistleblower denies the claims, saying they did not set anything up.
RELATED: Langley woman who paid White Rock company to destroy cheques shocked to learn they were not
NEWS 1130 has also obtained text messages from ShredWise’s CEO going back to December, showing the company was aware casino cards and documents weren’t being properly destroyed.
It’s unclear whether any customers were notified about the security risk before NEWS 1130’s first story aired.
Whistleblower meets with Attorney General
Attorney General David Eby has confirmed he met with the person who reached out to NEWS 1130 about allegations ShredWise was improperly storing confidential documents, and leaving intact casino cards in unlocked bins. They met last week, and Eby says he encouraged the whistleblower to reach out to the privacy commissioner.
“I can confirm I met with the ShredWise employee who alerted the media about how the company was handling sensitive materials sent for shredding, such as used casino playing cards. I encouraged the employee to contact the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of B.C., which has the power to investigate privacy complaints and enforce B.C’s privacy laws, about the concerns,” he says in a statement sent to NEWS 1130.
