Hank's Hard Drive Nightmare

Posted on June 12, 2006

A man named Hank Gerbus received a disturbing hardware-related phone call. The article was shared by the MSNBC's Red Tape Chronicles blog, which is no longer online. The Red Tape Chronicle says Hank Gerbus received a nightmare phone call from a stranger telling they had his hard drive.

A strange man on the phone told Gerbus, "Mr. Gerbus, I just bought your hard drive in Chicago."

Gerbus had his hard drive replaced at a Best Buy store in Cincinnati one year before receiving the phone call. His computer had suffered a hard drive crash so he needed a replacement drive. He had not had a chance to wipe the hard drive but the clerk at the Best Buy promised him his hard drive would be wiped.

Gerbus was concerned because his old drive contained social security information about him and his family members. The stranger on phone, named Ed, told Gerbus he purchased the drive at a flea market for $25. Gerbus was able to get the drive back from Ed.

Other people this happens to may not be so lucky. You need to make sure your hard drive is destroyed. Do not give it up otherwise. The Red Tape Chronicles said in its post that "This is a nightmare scenario that is repeating itself these days. The Red Tape Chronicles uncovered several incidents when hardware was not destroyed properly."