Risk of receiving invoices for a car you have never rented or even being innocently accused of tax offenses. This can be the consequence for someone who has had their ID documents stolen in a leak, according to André Catry, IT security expert at, among other things, the Defense Forces.
Between June and August this year, nearly 100,000 identity documents that hotel guests had left behind during check-in and check-out or booking at about a dozen hotels in Italy were stolen. The alleged perpetrator is said to have attempted to sell the leaked ID information on the darknet after the intrusion.
In such a situation, the information can easily be used for criminal purposes, warns André Catry. Using stolen ID documents to launder money or rent a car is easier in many other countries than in Sweden, he emphasizes.
Be vigilant
In countries that do not have developed systems for verifying an identity via bank ID, one relies on a scanned passport, a copy of the driver's license, and a few control questions, such as the name of a cousin, to open a bank account or rent a car, says André Catry to TT.
In practice, this means that someone can rent a car in your name and then not return it.
Then it becomes a matter of evidence, and you can end up in a legal dispute. Therefore, be vigilant about emails containing booking requests that you may mistake for spam, advises André Catry.
Can be used for money laundering
There is also a risk that someone will use your stolen ID information to open a bank account in your name and then use the account to launder money.
It can end with the information about the account reaching Swedish authorities, and you become suspected of tax offenses and taxed millions of kronor, says André Catry.
Within the EU, they are now trying to improve security through requirements for e-identification to verify identity.
If my passport were to leak onto the internet, I would invalidate it and my ID documents and get new ones. If someone then rents a car in your name and the car company contacts you with reference to your passport number, you can say that the passport is invalidated.
Ebba Blume/TT
Facts: How to detect if your ID documents have leaked
TT
The database owner who has been affected by the leak from the database is, according to the Data Protection Regulation GDPR, which applies throughout the EU, obliged to notify this to the person using the database.
If you are unsure whether you have been affected, contact the hotel where you left your ID documents.
Otherwise, it is difficult to know if your ID documents have leaked, but here are some signs:
Unknown credit reports that have been taken without your knowledge, or if you receive invoices or collection demands for goods you have not ordered. If you notice that someone else is using your social media accounts, it can be a sign of ID intrusion.
If you suspect that your ID documents have leaked, make a police report, contact credit reporting companies, and ask them to block your personal number. Check that your registered address is registered on my pages.
Sources: The Tax Authority and André Catry, IT security expert
