RIO GRANDE VALLEY - NEWSCHANNEL 5 went undercover to find out how private information from a Valley lawmaker's computer ended up for sale at a pawn shop, leaving many people's personal information up for grabs.
The Texas Attorney General's Office is looking into possible criminal wrongdoing.
It all centers around a tiny jump drive, which can be easily purchased at local stores. The jump drive allows a user to simply plug it into a computer and steal a massive amount of personal information such names, addresses, phone numbers and even social security numbers.
Second-hand computers can be found at local pawn shops all over the Valley. Finding a cheaper computer or computer accessories is a great find for bargain hunters, but it can also turn into someone's worse nightmare.
Juan Carreon bought a used computer and a used jump drive from a Valley pawn shop. When he turned it on, he couldn't believe his eyes.
"I got scared at what I was seeing," he said.
Carreon had gained access to hundreds of peoples' private information.
"I'm wondering how they got to a pawn shop," Carreon said.
NEWSCHANNEL 5 spent hours going through the files and discovered they came from a former law office of Texas State Representative, Aaron Pena, Jr. His office declined an on-camera interview, but Orlando Salinas, a spokesperson for Aaron Pena, Jr. e-mailed us this statement.
"Aaron Peña's private law practice has been closed for several years and all data and files are accounted for and stored in a secure location. In the past, his office on occasion gave away computers and other equipment to local non-profits and charities. It was standard office procedure to have the hard drives swiped clean by professionals."
One of the files found on the computer contained 627 names and many had social security numbers. They were all former employees of the old Haggar Manufacturing Plant. Pena's law office was involved in a lawsuit against Haggar in the late 90's. NEWSCHANNEL 5 tracked some the people down whose names were on the list.
Dora Alejandro, a former Haggar employee, was almost speechless when we showed her what we found. She says her daughter's identity was stolen several years ago and she's still having problems.
"It is upsetting. It is. To know information like this could come upon anybody's hands," she said.
San Juana Campuzano's name and social are also on the list. She said she's angry because she's always cautious and gets rid of her important documents so they will never fall into the wrong hands.
The information recovered is more than a decade old and NEWSCHANNEL 5 wasn't able to locate all of them. So hundreds of people have no idea their private information has been exposed.
NEWSCHANNEL 5 contacted the Texas Attorney General's Office and they are now launching an investigation. They want to find out if any laws were broken when all the personal information ended up exposed and essentially for sale at a pawn shop.
After visiting other local pawn shops, we discovered this was not an isolated case. We began asking employees questions and they told us that the information is not erased.
At another pawn shop, the employee turned on a computer for us and right on the screen were all the old files belonging to the previous computer owner.
The question arose whether this was illegal... for a pawn shop to sell a computer without erasing information, but the Texas Health & Safety Code (361.957) says manufacturers or retailers are "not liable in any way" for information left on a computer being recycled or resold. The code also states that they may not be exempt under other laws.
Carreon, the man who alerted NEWSCHANNEL 5 of this, says that he's learned the valuable lesson that no one is safe because people can find your information without you even knowing it.
As for the private information found on the flash drive, NEWSCHANNEL 5 turned it over to the Texas Attorney General's Office to make sure it does not end up in the wrong hands. The state's investigation is underway.
