It’s a photo no-go.
Catching a flight to a picture-perfect paradise sounds like a dream — but it could become a cybersecurity nightmare the second you share a snapshot of your plane ticket online.
“Stop doing this with your boarding pass or you’re going to get in a lot of trouble,” advised Eunice, a travel content creator, in a trending beware bulletin.
The tenured tripper, a professional traveler of over 50 years, warned that posting a boarding pass on social media grants cyber crooks complete access to a passenger’s personal information, including, “your name, email address and even your passport number.”
And she’s right — those private details (or worse) could easily fall into the wrong hands, says recent data on the dangers of boarding pass pics.
“A boarding pass typically includes the passenger’s full name, frequent traveler number, flight details (number, date, time, seat, class of service), and the booking reference or [Passenger Name Record] PNR number,” confirmed study authors. “Cybercriminals have the ability to modify flight reservations and even terminate them using the PNR.”
Here are some of the key boarding pass codes virtual vultures can use to hijack your life.
Passenger Name Record (PNR)
It’s a randomly generated, six-digit alphanumeric code that identifies you as a unique passenger. The PNR — also known as the record locator, reservation code, or booking code — contains the personal and travel specifications of each flyer, like meal preference and flight iterations. The little code also comes in handy when two passengers have the same first and last name.
However, should hackers get a hold of one’s PNR, the ne’re-do-wells could obtain a person’s confidential passport information that may lead to identity fraud, according to experts. The bad guys could also make unauthorized changes to your travel plans, steal your airline mileage points and cancel flights all together.
Barcode and QR codes.
Those black and white graphics on your boarding passes aren’t there for decoration — they’re digital representations of your flight information.
A barcode or quick-response (QR) code contains your info, and is often scanned by airline gate agents in order to quickly verify your identity, as well as keep track of passenger seating and luggage space, ahead of each flight. Posting a photo of the little rectangular or square-shaped etchings empowers internet scammers to track your traveling habits, impersonate you and make fraudulent changes to your bookings.
Security Code SSSS
Deemed “the kiss of death” by frequent flyers, the “SSSS” stamp is a boarding pass code that’s less useful to fraudsters, but more troubling to folks running late to their gates.
“It stands for ‘secondary security screening selection,’” Zach Griff, a senior aviation writer for virtual travel hub The Point Guys, based in New York, told Fox News. “It’s a measure implemented by security authorities in the US to screen certain passengers with additional checks.”
When “SSSS” is printed on your ticket, expect full-body and bag searches, additional metal-detector scans and explosive-detecting swabs.
“Selectees for this enhanced security are chosen in the days leading up to a flight when airlines share the manifest with U.S. security authorities,” said Griff. “SSSS can also be entirely random, and there’s no way to know when booking your flight whether you’ll be chosen as SSSS.”
Sequence number
It’s a three-digit number that indicates the “sequence,” or the order in which you checked in for your flight. The code often begins with “SEQ” followed by a number, such as 016 — meaning you were the 16th passenger to check in for the trip.
Although it’s not much of a goldmine for cyber conmen, the sequence number is worth paying attention to as it keeps travelers abreast of check-in status, as well as potential perks and repayments that might become available due to flight delays and cancellations.
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