Recently, we had a guest at our apartment who asked if he should email a scan of his group’s passports before arrival. We were surprised to see that, and after telling him that we do not require any identity documents before arrival, we decided to do some research about this matter.
This is a common problem
A simple Google search returned multiple results of people complaining that they have encountered hosts and property managers who demand visitors’ identity documents be scanned or photocopied. Usually if you decline or ask them why do they need scans of the documents, the response by the hosts is “It’s the law.”. Most people do not think twice about this and easily let their documents be scanned and stored on the host’s local computer or smartphone.
We also noticed that there are some hosts that keep their guests’ passports until they leave. If you ever come across such a host, you probably should not stay at their property.
Hosts need to register visitors
Most of the time, hosts ask for scans in order to be able to go after the visitors if they suddenly cause property damage, do not pay for their stay and leave in the middle of the night. In other words, they think they have some kind of insurance if the worst happens and the police will ask for their passport scans.
In Macedonia, and many other countries, when a guest arrives to the property, hosts are required to register the visitors by filling a form with guests’ details and hand it to the authorities. That form usually contains the following information:
- Full Name
- Passport Number
- Date and Place of Birth
- Date and Place of Entry to the Current Country
- Current Residence Address (Host’s Property Address)
The information above is enough for the authorities to determine who you are, track you and restrict your departure from the country if they are looking for you, Your passport data has already been registered at the airport or border crossing when you entered your current country. So, apart from the information above, there is no need to let your host scan your passport.
What happens if your passport scans fall into the wrong hands?
It is very unlikely that the hosts are identity thieves that want to steal your identity. As mentioned before, they simply think they are safer if they possess your documents. But, the main issue is, even though your documents won’t be shared with others by your host, their computer or smartphone where your identity scans are stored can be stolen, sold or accessed without authorization by computer viruses.
If your identity documents fall into the wrong hands they can be used for the following:
- Get access to your online accounts (email, Facebook, Twitter, cloud storage etc.)
- Create financial accounts on your behalf
- Request tax refunds
- Commit other crimes
The first one of these is the easiest since many websites still ask for a copy of your ID or Passport to reset your email or passwords. You should read about ‘Two-Factor Authentication” which may make getting access to your accounts harder for attackers.
Depending on which country you live in, requesting tax refunds or opening financial accounts without providing an original ID or passport may not be possible. But in some countries, it is still possible to do it simply by filling a form.
In conclusion, you should be very careful and try to avoid hosts that ask for scans of your identity documents. The scans can be safe with them, but they cannot guarantee that someone else will not get access to your personal data.
