Steve Hui is an air travel safety specialist who every day sees hundreds of photographs of boarding passes posted publicly on social media. People get so excited before their next trips that often forget that these harmless images can totally ruin their travel plans.
The information you are about to read may save your vacation.
1. First of all, Your Boarding Pass Contains Far More Info Than You Thin
Obviously the flight pass contains your name and destination, but it also contains information on how to cancel or modify your booking.
Steve Hui decided to investigate such a case. Details have been blurred to protect the passenger.
2. Let`s See How Easy It Is For Someone To Gain Access to Your Personal Info
The image above was published by a Virgin Australia passenger who was using Delta Airlines
As you can see Delta Airlines have a ton of information on a boarding pass, including a booking reference, E-Ticket number, frequent flyer number and even how many bags you are carrying.
Steve Hui decided to see what he can do with all that info. He logged in on the Delta website and used the information from the pass (name and E-Ticket number) to access “Manage My Booking”. In a matter of few clicks he got access to all passenger details, like ticket number, frequent flyer details and seat number.
3. Unfortunately, That`s Not All
You can also get more classified information like the last 4 credit card numbers, date of purchase and a full history of the fare paid. If someone with a malicious mind wants to take advantage of all of this, he can easily change your flight, seat and stuff like that.
4. Worst Case Scenario
When bragging to friends on social media this passenger tried to cover up the important info, but left the barcode (it was blurred afterwards). For the ones that don`t know a barcode can contain the complete info (full name, route, flight number, ticket number , booking reference, … ) stored in a special format, that anyone can read, not just the airport computer.
Needless to say, if anyone gets access to this information you can suffer a huge financial loss and risk someone taking control of your flyer account.
5. Identity theft is a real threat.
This doesn’t mean you can`t post pic of boarding images and heard-earned first class tickets, just make sure you cover all vital information because the identity risk is a real threat.
Maybe the best thing to do is wait until you`re drinking champagne in the lounge and post some pictures afterwards.
Be smart and take care.
