FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Starwood/Marriott Data Breach 500 Million Guests affected, Marriott fined £18.4m
Old Nov 30, 2018, 2:29 pm
  #163  
naumank
 
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 1MM, Marriott LTP, Hilton Gold, Hyatt Discoverist, Hertz PC
Posts: 1,002
Originally Posted by TravelinSperry
Exactly. The primary issue of all this is identity theft. If a thief has enough info (SS#, Passport, addresses, etc.) they could attempt to pretend they are you and open credit lines using your info. Then they could run up credit and not pay and the institution may go after you (thinking you're the one who did it). If it happens it's a long drawn out process to prove it wasn't you. With that said, banks (etc.) oftentimes put you through the 5 question security check which the thieves need to get through (and that info is not always avail on the data they stole). In fact, I even sometimes get my 5 questions wrong as they sometimes go back decades. So even with our passport # and ss#, etc. - it's not that easy to imitate someone.

If you're really worried you can join an identity theft service or buy an umbrella policy that covers Identity theft.

I think most people just get upset that their data was stolen and they don't like the feeling of it being out there. But in reality, it's a very small % of people who are ultimately victims of identity theft (but for those who are it's a huge headache). I had a friend who was and it took her over a year of work and some real funds to straighten it out.
I haven’t seen any credit applications asking for someone’a passport number. If it’s the cover page of a passport, I can see that the DOB and DOP could potentially be useful. But the number?

A guest on Neil Cavudo’s morning show said criminals could duplicate passports by using someone’s passport number. I am not so sure. I have heard that a physical passport can be used to make a fake- but with just a number?

So I am really not so sure about the usefulness of one’s passport number to a criminal. Perhaps we shouldn’t worry about it? Anyone else care to enlighten us?
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