Joan’s computer didn’t come from a family member.

We found it — unlocked and unprotected — sitting on a shelf at a local Goodwill.

Since then, we’ve found this again and again from Goodwill Retail Stores and other secondhand outlets. The pattern is dangerously consistent:

• Machines arrive unwiped and unencrypted

• Many are still logged into personal accounts

• They often contain emails, financial records, photos, medical info, and active browser sessions

And it’s not just Goodwill

Habitat for Humanity ReStores, Salvation Army shops, school surplus auctions, electronics donation bins, and community e-waste drives are all pipelines for devices full of personal data — handed over by people who assume someone downstream will “take care of it.”

But they don’t.

These organizations are not trained, not equipped, and not obligated to wipe or verify devices before resale.

That’s how Joan’s digital life — and countless others — ended up one click away from the wrong hands.