This question is prompted by [How to Safely Destroy a Large Quantity of Valid Blank Checks](https://money.stackexchange.com/questions/109733/how-to-safely-destroy-a-large-quantity-of-valid-checks).

For decades, I've put torn up confidential financial information into the **garbage** (**not** the recyclable trash), tightly tying up the garbage bag and throwing it into the garbage truck at my local weekly garbage collection site. I cannot imagine anyone pawing through volumes of smelly garbage bags in search of treasure. Maybe passing a metal detector over the garbage, but not a hands-on search. **However, as the linked question demonstrates, some people are unhappy with this method of disposing of old, but still potentially mis-usable, financial papers.** 

Of course, merely crumpling up such papers and dropping them into an open, public trash can is inadvisable.

**Is there any information on how often valuable paper is taken from garbage disposal sites, and subsequently used fraudulently? For example: "I never authorized this transaction, but I did mistakenly throw away a list with all my pass codes." If so, please summarize.**

**Addendum because Comments** There must be some data on fraudulent transactions, with, possibly, information on how they occurred.