But after getting off the plane, the usefulness of boarding pass disappeared, and everyone’s attitude towards it was different.
Some people may be flying for the first time or excited about the journey. They took photos of boarding passes and posted them on social media for everyone to see.
There are also some passengers who often fly and throw their boarding passes on their seats or into the trash can. American passenger Tyler Potretzke said:
“If it’s a paper pass, I normally leave it in the bin in the back of the seat in front of me. Or itends up in my pockets, in the wash — nowhere secure, that’s for sure! "
"For the paper boarding pass, I just throw it directly into the trash can or the bag in front of the seat. Or put it in your pocket, and it will be smashed directly when washing clothes ~ "
Another passenger, Debbie Caporuscio, said, "If I am on vacation, I will throw my boarding pass in the trash can of the hotel. "
If you think like them, you are wrong. Why?
Look at the video below ~
The video mainly reminds everyone not to throw boarding passes around. In the video, the host used professional cracking software to easily obtain the private information contained in the QR code of the ticket.
The two sisters interviewed were shocked: "No, not like that…＂" (I never thought it would be like this. . . )
“I think it’s scary, like you have never think about those things”
"I think it’s horrible. I’ve never considered such a situation before" ~
Foreign media related reports:
Many people think that there is only name, flight number, destination and seat number on the boarding pass anyway, so there will be no trouble if you throw it away.
But Winstone Krone, a legal expert, said that there is also a crucial QR code on the boarding pass (upper right corner):
By scanning this QR code, criminals can get important personal information such as your name, passport number, home address, email address and contact information (mobile phone number).
Experts reminded that we must pay attention to properly handling boarding passes. Don’t think that getting off the plane is useless and you can throw it around.
You can tear it into pieces and throw it away, or you can smear the QR code and throw it away to prevent people with ulterior motives from knowing your private information, thus cracking the password and stealing your identity.
It is also unsafe to take photos of boarding passes and upload them online. Because the code scanning app can not only identify the QR code information on paper printed matter, but also identify the QR code device on the screen of electronic equipment (mobile phone).
Criminals can see your boarding pass uploaded on social media and scan the QR code-get your private information (including ID card and passport number).
With the progress of the times, the development of science and technology, our life is becoming more and more convenient, and various new fraud methods are emerging one after another.
Many fraudsters obtain other people’s personal information through various channels, and then gain the trust of the parties.
Scan the QR code of boarding pass and get all kinds of information ~
Others will use the information they have obtained to fake and steal others’ identities for illegal and criminal activities.
Sometimes when people are happy when they travel, they put their boarding passes and train tickets in the circle of friends. This behavior is likely to make personal information stolen by illegal elements.
Don’t underestimate the barcode/QR code of air tickets and train tickets. Although it can’t be identified by "WeChat scan" or ordinary code scanning software,
However, the private information such as passenger ID number and passport number contained in it can be easily read by professional software.
The domestic media also consulted the staff of several airlines on this matter. Staff from different airlines have confirmed:
The QR code/barcode of boarding pass does contain private information of passengers, including name, ID card, passport number, contact information, etc.
The reporter interviewed anti-hacker technicians about the leakage of QR code. He told reporters that the QR code is an image that compiles information according to certain rules.
For the convenience of reading, the programming rules of QR codes are universal. Therefore, in theory, mobile phones can read the QR code on air tickets.
In recent years, telephone fraud and credit card fraud caused by information leakage have also emerged in an endless stream.
Previously, when a Chinese man stayed in a hotel, he unfortunately fell into the trap of credit card fraud and was given the card issuer, credit card number and password in one minute.
Mr. Xie, a Chinese citizen, went to a small town in southeastern Ontario on business and rented a small hotel there.
When he checked in at the front desk, he paid the fee by swiping his credit card. After that, Mr. Xie took his room card and went to his room to rest.
Unexpectedly, not long after, the phone in the room rang.
The caller claimed to be the hotel manager, saying that the employee who just checked in for Mr. Xie was a new employee and the procedure was wrong.
In order to correct the mistake, the manager has to recheck Mr. Xie’s credit card information. As he just swiped his card and checked in, he received a phone call from the hotel room instead of a mobile phone. Mr. Xie told the other party his card number and password without much thought.
After a while, Mr. Xie didn’t doubt it until he received a phone call from the issuing bank and asked him if he had spent money somewhere.
After receiving no reply, the bank said it would freeze the stolen card and send a new credit card to Mr. Xie.
Only then did Mr. Xie know that the caller was a liar. How did the liar know Mr. Xie’s room number and phone number?
The head of the fraud prevention department of a bank said that there have been many similar fraud cases recently, mostly in small hotels, so it is not excluded that hotels should be "inside".
It is also possible that the liar peeked at the room number when the guest checked in, and after the guest entered the room, he borrowed the phone in the hotel lobby to commit fraud.
How to prevent such fraud?
1. When staying in other places, try to choose regular hotel chains instead of private small hotels.
2. When checking in, pay attention to people nearby, and don’t let criminals see your personal information.
3. When receiving this kind of call, don’t blindly tell the other party your information, but go to the front desk to ask the situation in person. If it is true, do it at the front desk. If not, avoid being cheated.
In a recent interview, Mintel Polling Company found that in the past two years, one in every ten Canadians had been cheated by credit cards, among which Chinese were the most vulnerable group.
According to the survey report, Chinese Canadians between the ages of 35 and 44 and people with an annual family income of more than 100,000 are the most vulnerable to credit card fraud.
About 5% of Canadian consumers have been cheated by phone, and 4% have had their cash stolen. Another 2% of Canadians have been falsely identified.
Financial institutions need to take more actions to guide customers how to take preventive measures to protect customers from fraud.
Everyone should also be vigilant not to disclose their personal information in public places (or public networks such as social media).
Tax fraud: It was also reported not long ago that a swindler pretended to be the tax bureau and cheated by phone during tax filing.
A few weeks ago, a female resident of Ontario was cheated out of more than 5,000 Canadian dollars. At that time, she was negotiating with the Canadian tax bureau about filing tax returns, and suddenly she received a phone call from the "tax officer".
The liar can tell the exact amount that the tax bureau has urged her, and he knows the dispute between her and the tax bureau. Therefore, she did not doubt the identity of the other party.
The fake tax official said that she would be arrested if she didn’t pay the tax immediately. The most convenient payment method is to buy some Visa prepaid cards, then call him to tell him the password, and finally send the prepaid cards to the tax bureau.
The resident did so and was cheated of more than 5,000 Canadian dollars. The swindler may know the information of the resident through the tax documents and letters inadvertently leaked by the resident, thus defrauding the trust and succeeding.
Having said that, information security has become a problem that we should not take lightly. In addition to boarding passes, train tickets, express bills, insurance documents, tax documents, etc. also have the risk of information leakage and need to be properly handled.