Very dangerous defrauding trend started in some hotels in Krakow

I travel around Europe quite a bit and when staying in hotels it is almost standard practice now to have one's passport photocopied - whatever country one is in. The practice is simply commonplace.

That doesn't make it legal in any way... private businesses should not own a xero copy of everyone's passports... they can be used in too many illegal ways :(

How can they be used, tell us?

To open up a bank account, sign up for a trading account, get a credit card issued.

Lots of companies use it for proof of identity when you're signing up for an account online.

You are most certainly not going to be able to open a bank account or get a credit card with only a photocopy of a passport. Especially not in Poland.

Lots of US banks allow you to sign up online, without actually physically showing up. Right or wrong. They use scanned copies of photo ID and recent bills showing your name and address to prove your identity. There's a bit more than a little gap in that verification process. All of the online brokerages do it the same way.

Colour scans, not black & white photocopies.

Yes, that's right.

Few people are aware of this, this is the reason why identity theft is growing at such huge speed
everywhere in Eastern Europe

Delph & Harry - I'll tell you how you can open a bank account/credit cards with a Passport photocopy.
Say your PP photcopy falls into the hands of those organised gangs, somewhere in russia or ukraine or anywhere in the world as a matter of fact!

All they do is get a brand new fake passport with your details in it but with some one else's picture. Now, that is Identity thefty by definition. What they decide to use the fake passport for is any one's guess.

Here in the UK, i've known people who have accumulated huge debt bills and they haven't got a clue why they owe on credit cards and store cards.

Debit cards are a no go for these criminals because literally, you spend what you' ve got in bank not the credit. So yeah - In a nutshell, A passport photocopy, and any sort of proof of address is literally enough to have your identity stolen. However, you don't just find these criminals on the street, as they're running a multi-million pound 'business'. So what the OP is suggesting is somewhat a red-herring as these people are very thorough and wouldn't risk such exposure!

Yes, exactly, and this is how these criminals start owning their own hotels in krakow, and continue
their defrauding even stronger now having all details at their feet, handed in every day by
unsuspecting tourists.

"Proof of address" is the easiest to do... you just take any other standard bill and you modify it easily in ADOBE PHOTOSHOP... and in few minutes there you have everything you need ;)

May be but i would have thought Poland some sort of vetting system used to eliminate such elements of society. Aren't you underestimating the country's Intelligency service? Surely, it can't be that easy, is it?

Where do they get a brand new fake passport from?

Have you just fallen into the media hype in the UK about "identity fraud"? It's funny - ID fraud is pretty much unknown in many parts of the world, yet it's all over the UK. Funnily enough, it was the Labour government which used this myth to attempt to introduce ID cards.


That's what they've told you. I know someone who works for a bank in security, and many of these people have actually run up huge bills quite intentionally - often without the knowledge of the partner, who would understandably murder them.

Bear in mind that UK legislation requires employers to take photocopies of passports or other documents - and these must be kept on file.

ah come on, do ye not know what happens those photocopies?

They go in the thrash as soon as you leave.

God, with people like you lot, no wonder witch hunting was pretty much a sport in the middle ages

Are you that naive to actually think there's no fake passports? the funny thing is they're so genuinely done that you can't actually tell the difference with a naked eye.


True that and these cases are probably the majority. However, i've also witnessed severe identity fraud cases. i know some one who has received a bank statement of an account he's never opened, and here's a surprise for you, it was £7000 overdrawn!

Yes, the UK media has given it alot of hype but i think it has also raised the awareness amongst people to look after their personal details especially online.

I know identity fraud is happening out there but not on the scale the OP is making us believe!

My mum got a phone call from her card issuers saying that she had spent £8000 on her card one afternoon while we were at home. They noticed a differing trend in my mum's spending and so phoned to check. She actually got all the money back within 24 hours. But I have heard of people getting bigger amounts taken off them and it taking a bit longer to get back. But they always do. The fact is that identity theft is like most other theft, it's a huge inconvenience in most cases but if you catch it quick then it can be sorted in no time.

I think the name identity theft makes it sound much more serious than it is. When I first heard the term I was picturing something like a hollywood movie where someone steals your identity and starts out a seperate life as you. Not just clones a credit card and buys stuff until you notice, cancel the card, get your money back and they move onto someone else.

Thats pretty much it really, save for the distress and inconvenience that comes with it. Most of these debts are written off by the banks if the victims can prove beyond reasonable doubt that they weren't at fault. Still, it's a horrible experience to go through.

You have that the wrong way round: the bank must write off the debt if they can not prove that the victim signed for each and every individual transaction.

In the USA, yes.


Again, in the USA. In the UK your cards will be refunded and replaced in 24hours. It appears that in certain countries losing your card is like losing cash. In most EU (and ANZAC) places losing a card is nothing.

The USA needs to get their act together...

it's funny how this exact type of identity theft has skyrocketed in this year, over 120 millions identity theft cases per country (U.S.), and growing day by day