Identity Theft and Passport Loss Increasing

In a world where identity theft is rife, especially when linked to immigration, the value of a passport is far more than the £72 it costs to replace it, new findings warn.

UK travellers are undervaluing the importance of their passports, with the number of Brit passports lost or stolen standing at 290,996 last year, according to a new survey by www.essentialtravel.co.uk.

The majority of lost and stolen passports go missing abroad, and the costs often go beyond the initial annoyances of extra nights’ accommodation and finding a new flight home.

There is a rampant black market for forged and altered passports in many countries. It’s a common technique, and stealing a person’s identity to enter another country illegally is on the increase.

No-one is immune either. BBC Sports reporter Kofi Sekyere recently found himself thrown into prison in Slovenia because someone had used details from his stolen passport to commit a 450,000 Euro fraud in Germany – and his passport was stolen in the UK.

"Any passport holder should note down the number and issue date of their passport and keep those details in a safe place. They should also take two copies of the page in the passport that carries their photo, leaving one lodged safely with a friend or family member, and one packed for travel in a separate place from the passport itself,” says Essential Travel’s Stuart Bensusan.

Many unnecessary delays in issuing a temporary passport occur because the authorities do not have the details of the lost or stolen document. Taking another form of photo ID is also advisable.