MILLIONS of people and companies change their computer systems and Smartphones for the latest models every month but thieves are harvesting unwanted hard drives which contain crucial personal and business information, according to Newport company Erecycler.

Everything from payrolls to databases, employee records and home addresses have been found on many hard drives arriving at Erecycler's plant in Newport.

Andy Scott, head of operations and data security at Erecycler, said the data and identity theft issues are set to get worse.

Action Fraud, the national organisation that replaced the National Strategic Fraud Authority, said, in their October crime figures survey, that people may not even know that they have been the subject of data theft until it is too late.

The survey said: “Some victims of fraud may be unaware they have been a victim, or that any fraudulent activity has occurred. Fraud is an offence not currently included in the Crime Statistics England and Wales headline estimates and the level of fraud reported via administrative sources is thought to significantly understate the true level of such crime."

Robert Johnson, CEO of global data security organisation the National Association for Information Destruction, who recently visited Erecycler, said: "We routinely examine second-hand computer drives, bought from sources such as Ebay, to evaluate the extent of the issue. It is not unusual to find that 50 per cent of used discarded drives still contain easily retrievable personal or business data.”

While people may take care in trying to wipe information clean from their laptop and stand-alone computers, crucial information, like bank details, can be hacked off the discarded hard drives of Smartphones and tablets.

Andy said: "People will try and erase or damage a hard drive to clear information. I can tell you that you can hit a hard drive with a hammer and the information is still there, you can drill two holes in a hard drive and the information is still there.

"It needs to go through an approved, accredited and certified software process to be absolutely certain that it has been removed completely, which is our business."