As many people gear up for the busy holiday traveling season, experts are warning travelers to guard their boarding passes, which could be targets for identity thieves to steal your frequent flier miles or even your return flight.
Somewhere between the lines, the luggage and the landings, it’s not uncommon to simply toss a boarding pass once you’ve used it.
“You think it’s a piece of paper, I already flew, so what’s the point,” said Matthew Klint, a blogger with upgrd.com. He said if you’re between flights, the boarding pass you trashed is a door for an identity thief to walk through.
“Every airline has a vulnerability,” he said. “All you need is this confirmation number which will appear somewhere on any boarding pass.”
Klint said the flight confirmation number is the key to unlocking any account with a smartphone or laptop. “It works with United, works with Delta, works with American.”
He used confirmation numbers for all three airlines; in each case the six-digit number grants significant access to personal information.
“If you’ve got a return trip, they can cancel it,” Klint said. “If they want to change it, they have access to more of your personal information, telephone numbers, potentially birth dates, frequent flier numbers.”
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