An estimated 9,000 USB sticks have been left in people's
pockets when they take their clothes to the dry
cleaner.
This is according to a UK survey carried out by data security
firm Credant Technologies to gauge the frequency and ease with
which mobile devices such as
memory sticks are lost or forgotten in strange places such as
dry cleaners.
A
similar survey conducted by
Credant Technologies last
September among London taxi drivers showed that 6,193 handheld
devices, such as
laptops,
iPods and
memory sticks, are left in the back of taxis every six
months.
The latest survey found that dry cleaners in the suburbs, on the
commuter belt or in city centres find the most USB or memory
sticks.
One dry cleaner in the heart of the City of London said he finds
an average of one USB stick every two weeks. Another said he had
found at least 80 in the past year.
Rolex watches, credit cards, drugs and an envelope filled with
diamonds were among the other items found by the cleaners
surveyed.
The survey figures were based on phone interviews conducted with
500 dry cleaners across the UK, which had found on average two USB
sticks during the course of a year.
These figures were then extrapolated among the total number of
dry cleaners in the UK, which is 4,500 according to the Textile
Services Association.