Why you should never post photos of your boarding pass online
An experiment by Australian air miles whiz shows the easy access identity thieves have to a passenger's information
The picture of a boarding pass allows complete access to a passenger's travel and financial details
AUSTRALIA:
Most of us are tempted to post a picture of our boarding passes online before jetting off on a vacation but what we don't realise is that we are giving identity thieves a free ticket into our personal details.
An experiment by Australian air miles whiz, Steve Hui, has shown the easy access identity thieves have to a passenger's personal information when a photo of a boarding pass is posted on social media. In just a few simple steps, Hui was able to access a passenger’s full itinerary, frequent flyer logins and even credit card details.
Hui used the name and flight details of a Australian Virgin Australia passenger that he got from a photo of a boarding pass posted on Instagram to log onto the "manage my bookings section" on Delta Airlines website. By doing this, he gained access to the passenger's ticket numbers and seat numbers.
“It was easy to see a full breakdown of the fare paid, including the date of purchase and the last four digits of the credit card used. People could use that information to potentially cancel or change your flights, change your seat or cause other issues," Hui told news.com.au
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In photos of boarding passes where the name and flight number are hidden, the personal information of a traveler can be accessed by running the barcode through a simple online barcode reader. “I was able to retrieve all the passenger’s details without seeing the rest of the boarding card. The text provided full name, flight number, route, booking reference, ticket number, frequent flyer number and more," Hui said.
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The flaws of boarding pass technology have been revealed before. In August, Przemek Jaroszewski, the head of Poland’s Computer Emergency Response Team, was able to make a new entry ticket using a mobile app that gave him access to airport lounges. “Literally, it takes 10 seconds to create a boarding pass… and it doesn’t even have to look legit because you’re not in contact with any humans," Jarosewski told Wired at the time.
At present, there are over 75,000 posts of boarding passes on Instagram alone.
This article originally appared on The Telegraph.
Most of us are tempted to post a picture of our boarding passes online before jetting off on a vacation but what we don't realise is that we are giving identity thieves a free ticket into our personal details.
An experiment by Australian air miles whiz, Steve Hui, has shown the easy access identity thieves have to a passenger's personal information when a photo of a boarding pass is posted on social media. In just a few simple steps, Hui was able to access a passenger’s full itinerary, frequent flyer logins and even credit card details.
Hui used the name and flight details of a Australian Virgin Australia passenger that he got from a photo of a boarding pass posted on Instagram to log onto the "manage my bookings section" on Delta Airlines website. By doing this, he gained access to the passenger's ticket numbers and seat numbers.
“It was easy to see a full breakdown of the fare paid, including the date of purchase and the last four digits of the credit card used. People could use that information to potentially cancel or change your flights, change your seat or cause other issues," Hui told news.com.au
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In photos of boarding passes where the name and flight number are hidden, the personal information of a traveler can be accessed by running the barcode through a simple online barcode reader. “I was able to retrieve all the passenger’s details without seeing the rest of the boarding card. The text provided full name, flight number, route, booking reference, ticket number, frequent flyer number and more," Hui said.
Moscow restarts air travel for Russians to Turkey
The flaws of boarding pass technology have been revealed before. In August, Przemek Jaroszewski, the head of Poland’s Computer Emergency Response Team, was able to make a new entry ticket using a mobile app that gave him access to airport lounges. “Literally, it takes 10 seconds to create a boarding pass… and it doesn’t even have to look legit because you’re not in contact with any humans," Jarosewski told Wired at the time.
At present, there are over 75,000 posts of boarding passes on Instagram alone.
This article originally appared on The Telegraph.