Scam when sharing your ID: three tricks to avoid being a victim of a scam

Nowadays, falling into a scam is something that can happen to many people. The use of certain platforms makes it necessary to share certain personal data over the Internet, such as ID, which may be susceptible to falling into the wrong hands and being used to carry out illicit activities. For example, to check-in for a hotel or tourist apartment, for a banking procedure or even for Social Security, it is possible that you send a photograph of your identification document to confirm the identity of the person who is going to do it.

Therefore, it is essential to take all possible security measures to not be a victim of any scam if we share a snapshot of our ID. Of course, there are entities and institutions that are quite safe, however, in these cases all caution is insufficient.

A few months ago, the Civil Guard explained what problems can arise from sharing a photograph of your ID with third parties and strangers. As listed in a post, by sending this document through unreliable pages, criminals can use it to register with betting houses, open bank accounts, request credit or make purchases and sales. In this way, even if it was not you who ordered these procedures, when your data appears, for legal purposes it will appear that it is really you and the process to challenge this is too tedious.

What to do to avoid being a victim of a scam with your ID

On its Instagram account, the National Police has shared a series of guidelines to follow to avoid being victims of a DNI scam.

1. Send the black and white imagesthis way it will be more evident that it is a photocopy and not a real document.

2. Pixelate the data that are not necessary for the recipient of the image. This step is especially relevant, especially when signing, to prevent it from being copied and your identity impersonated.

3. Write a text on top of the ID specifying the reason why you shared it.

Thanks to these three recommendations, which do not involve any complications and will only take a couple of minutes to complete, it is possible to save yourself more than one scare and see your personal data exposed.