What To Do If A Scammer Has Your Passport No?
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By Farrukh Mushtaq
Farrukh Mushtaq
See author profileFarrukh Mushtaq, a digital marketer at PureSquare, possesses a keen interest in cybersecurity and enjoys writing about it. With several years of experience in the digital marketing industry, he brings expertise and passion to his work.
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24 March 2025
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13 mins read
Discovering a scammer has your passport number can be terrifying! You could be the next target of identity theft and fraud.
Your passport is your identity and a key to international travel, and if it falls into the wrong hands, it can damage your reputation. This blog covers the essential steps to take immediately to mitigate the damage and protect yourself from further harm.
What Should You Do If Your Passport No. Is Hacked?
If your passport number has been compromised, you must act quickly.
1. Report the Incident Immediately
If you suspect identity theft or fraud, report it to your local police or law enforcement agency. Contact your country's passport agency or equivalent. For example, in the US, contact the US Department of State.
2. Notify Your Bank and Credit Card Companies
Inform your financial institutions to prevent unauthorized transactions. Monitor your bank and credit card statements closely for any suspicious activity.
3. Take Steps to Protect Your Identity
Contact the major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit reports. Change passwords for all online accounts, especially those related to travel, banking, and email.
4. Get a New Passport
Contact your country's passport agency to apply for a new passport. It is very important to get a new passport because even if you get fraud alerts and credit freezes, the passport number itself is still out there and could be used for a malicious purpose.
How To Prevent Your Passport No. From Leaking?
It must be your priority to secure your private data at all costs. Avoid sharing passport details via unencrypted channels like standard email or unsecured messaging apps.
While traveling, avoid using public WiFi networks, as they can be easily intercepted. Scrutinize websites requesting passport information, verifying their legitimacy, and secure protocol.
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Regularly monitor your credit reports and online accounts for any signs of suspicious activity, as passport data could be used for financial theft.
Plus, you must always stay cautious about the websites and services you give your information to and how they handle your data.
What Can Scammers Do With My Passport No.?
Your passport number, along with other sensitive data, can be a powerful tool for scammers. You could become a target of identity theft, and scammers can impersonate you, leading them to open fraudulent accounts, apply for loans, or even obtain government benefits in your name.
With your passport number, they can create forged passports or other travel documents. Your passport no. could be used to conduct phishing attacks. They can use this information to trick you into providing even more sensitive data, such as your bank account details or credit card numbers.
They can also attempt to access your bank accounts or credit cards. Plus, your data could be used to create synthetic identities, making them easy to hide. The greatest danger comes when your essential data is sold on the dark web.
How to Find Out If Your Passport No. Is on the Dark Web?
The anxiety of discovering your data on the dark web is understandable. However, people often stay unaware of repeated data breaches until they experience a greater financial or personal loss.
PureVPN’s dark web monitoring helps track critical identifiers that might have ended up on the dark web so you can take the necessary precautions before your sensitive data is exploited.
How to Enable Dark Web Monitoring on PureVPN
- Install PureVPN on your device or update your existing VPN app.
- Visit the Members Area to get access.
- Go to Dark Web Monitoring from the main menu.
- Select Add Assets to Monitor.
- Add your email address, Passport No., credit card number, passport number, and Passport No.
- Mention the code sent to your registered number, and you’re done.
7. Take the recommended steps if your data is part of a breach.
8. You can mark the breaches as resolved.
Interested reading :
- What To Do If A Scammer Has Your Phone Number
- What to Do If a Scammer Has Your Email Address
- What To Do If A Scammer Has Your SSN
- What To Do If A Scammer Has Your Credit Card No
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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What can a scammer do with my Passport No.?
Scammers can combine your passport number with other stolen personal information to impersonate you. They can use your number to create forged passports or travel documents, use it in phishing scams, and access your financial accounts.
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How do I know if my Passport No. is being used for fraud?
There are some signs you can consider when checking if your passport number is being used for fraud. Look for any unfamiliar account activity. Watch for unauthorized transactions, stay alert to unexpected calls, emails, or letters, and enable PureVPN dark web monitoring service to get real-time alerts whenever your data is vulnerable.
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How can I prevent scammers from getting my Passport No.?
You can prevent your passport number from getting into the wrong hands by keeping your passport in a safe place, avoiding sharing passport details on unsecured websites or emails, and avoiding sharing sensitive data on unsecured networks.
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Can scammers hack my bank account with just the Passport No.?
While a passport number alone is unlikely to give direct access to your bank account, it can be a valuable piece of information when combined with other personal information and can be used to impersonate you to your bank and open new accounts in your name.
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How can you tell if someone has a fake passport?
Detecting a fake passport needs a keen eye. With visual inspection and specialized technology, it is possible. A fake passport would have a tempered appearance and might not pass the biometric verification.
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How do I know if my information is on the dark web?
PureVPN’s dark web monitoring continuously tracks your email address, passport No., phone number, and other sensitive data to monitor how vulnerable your privacy on the dark web is.
Final Thoughts
Keeping your sensitive data secure is important with the rising data breaches and other cyber crimes, as your data, once leaked, ends up on the dark web. Stay cautious and manage your privacy with PureVPN.
