And yet it's true. An alternative kind of... "laundering" takes place on a daily basis in... dry cleaners in the United Kingdom.
Of course, our article is not about money laundering, but about the thousands of USBs, Smartphones, MP3 Players and a multitude of other items that end up for… washing in the UK's dry cleaning chains.
According to a study conducted by ESET Ireland, 22,266 USB memory sticks and 973 smartphones were found during 2015 by dry cleaners in the UK.
As the research data shows, 45% of these objects were never returned to their owners for various reasons, mainly either intentionally or due to negligence.
This means that around 10,000 USBs, which very likely contained sensitive information or corporate data, may have ended up in the wrong hands, been used for blackmail, or even been sold on the black market to hackers, cybercriminals, or competitors.
But beyond the security risks posed by lost USBs and smartphones, the research, which included data from 500 dry cleaners across the UK, also focused on another interesting piece.
In addition to smartphones and USB sticks, dry cleaners have listed some of the most unusual things found in customers' clothes and pockets - the list is long and includes Viagra pills, condoms, dentures, lasagna, and even a...dead rat.
