Is Malicious Intent Possible By Someone Holding A Photocopy Of Your Passport?

[omnipresent]

If you had an argument with someone who has a photocopy of your passport, what kind of malicious things (either legal or illegal) can that person do using it?

Does it often happen that a person presents the photocopy to police and untruthfully claims that the holder of the passport had committed a crime? Would a lot of trouble arise in such a case?

Should we be very careful when dealing with people who have taken a photocopy of our passport?

[merijn]

Give only a copy of your passport for official reasons ( bank, insurance etc ).

And when you give a copy always write on the copy two big lines across the passport information with the purpose and date information between those lines.

In this way they can't use this copy for something else.

[PhilHarries]

I did read on another thread and I think it was connected with American passports but it was said that photocopying passports is illegal. I've never heard of that and, typically, many places such as hotels in many countries are required by local law to retain a copy of your passport during your stay. There's nothing in the passport to say you should not make copies and I don't recall anything on the form either but you never know what vague rules exist.

What could someone do with a copy of your passport? Well I guess they could claim you run off without paying for services etc but a receipt clears that one. In the extreme I guess they could scan it, electronically change the photo and try and claim with the embassy that the original was stolen/lost and get a replacement. Anyone know if this would be possible?

If you are worried then merjin's advice is sound and you should make sure the copy is either returned to yourself or destroyed in your presence when no longer required. Although you never know when they are out of sight just how many copies they do make.

It's a good question and it would be interesting to see some more replies.

[think_too_mut]

Give only a copy of your passport for official reasons ( bank, insurance etc ).

Crappy 150B a day motorbike hire would request it. Mom and pop rentacar.

[merijn]

Give only a copy of your passport for official reasons ( bank, insurance etc ).

Crappy 150B a day motorbike hire would request it. Mom and pop rentacar.

If a copy is needed like you said and your don't have a choice.

Use a marker and draw two big lines accroos the copy with the date and reason for the copy between those lines.

In this way they can do nothing elde wiht he copy as everybody can see from which date and for which reason this copy was made.

[wpcoe]

I did read on another thread and I think it was connected with American passports but it was said that photocopying passports is illegal.

A couple years ago a friend and I went to a Kinko's copy shop in San Francisco to get color photocopies of our passports and were advised by the staff that color copying was illegal, but black-and-white (greyscale) was not. I always wondered if that were true, but never followed up on it.

[omnipresent]

Thanks for the responses, but nobody has answered my questions yet.

Consider this hypothetical situation: You hate the owner of the apartment that you rent. The guy tries to cheat you in any way he can. One day you get into a heated argument with him. He has a copy of your passport, since it was a requirement prior to signing the rental contract. Should you be concerned that one day, out of spite, he can do something malicious with the photocopy of your passport e.g. approach your embassy or police and make false accusations, using the passport photocopy for the authorities to track you down? Could such a situation lead to your imprisonment, deportation, or significant fines/bribes?

I'd be interested in reading about any cases in which passport photocopies had been used for malicious purposes against the owner of the passport.

[QED]

If the guy wants to go to the police with a made up story then I don't think it would make much difference whether he had a copy of your passport or not.

My main concern would be identity theft, but he would need alot more info than he could get from you passport to, say, open a bank account in your name.

I wouldn't worry about it personally.

[merijn]

Thanks for the responses, but nobody has answered my questions yet.

Consider this hypothetical situation: You hate the owner of the apartment that you rent. The guy tries to cheat you in any way he can. One day you get into a heated argument with him. He has a copy of your passport, since it was a requirement prior to signing the rental contract. Should you be concerned that one day, out of spite, he can do something malicious with the photocopy of your passport e.g. approach your embassy or police and make false accusations, using the passport photocopy for the authorities to track you down? Could such a situation lead to your imprisonment, deportation, or significant fines/bribes?

I'd be interested in reading about any cases in which passport photocopies had been used for malicious purposes against the owner of the passport.

If i would like to do something to somebody else i don't need his passport.

Everybody can go to the police and ask them to write up a report for something he did to me. ( For example stealing from me ).

After the report i would receive from the police a statement ( kind of arrest warrant ) which i could use to get the person arrested at every police station in Thailand.

I experienced this process an few years ago when an employee did steal from me, i received this letter and when i saw her later that year i approached a local police station and they arrested her.

So to answer your hypothetical situation the answer is yes if he had or did not had your passport you could have problems. But on the other hand if he did so and the police would find out them himself would be in big problems with the MIB.

Edited January 8, 2009 by merijn

[Rainmon]

if you are working here without a permit and the person that owes you money requests your passport, what ever the reason they say, DO NOT GIVE THEM A COPY, they will call immigration, report you, cheat you out of your money and you will be deported...

don't know if this is your situation but, anyone that has a copy of your passport and you piss them off, it is not good, be very careful, always remember you are a foreigner here and think about that before you do anything that is confrontational,

they may call it the LOS, but remember, you're not in Kansas any more Drorothy,