Never throw away your boarding pass when you travel, security expert reveals why

Picture this: it's the holidays, you're in a state of euphoria and can't wait to catch the flight that will take you to a far-away dreamy destination... Be careful once your flight is over, though. Even if you think your boarding pass is no longer useful when your trip is over, do not leave it on the plane, in the seat pocket in front of you, or throw it away right at the airport, or in any type of public place.

In addition to indicating the type of security you will have to undergo at boarding, it contains valuable information about you and could fall into the wrong hands. In fact, hackers and identity thieves could easily use your personal data if they manage to get a hand on your valuable boarding pass.

It contains a lot of your personal information

Winston Krone, a cybercrime expert for CBS, explained that a boarding pass has a very useful and important barcode. Indeed, when it is scanned, the barcode reveals a lot more confidential information about you, like your home address, your e-mail address, your phone number and even some of your financial data.

If you throw away your boarding pass at the airport directly, anyone could come and pick it up from the bin. Then, any hacker could have access to all of this personal information very easily, which could have serious consequences on your life (or bank account).

Read more:The dangerous reason why you should never charge your phone in an airport revealed by expert

How to throw away your boarding pass safely

Of course, you don't have to keep all your boarding passes and collect them over time, but try getting rid of them once you're home so that nobody can get ahold of them. If you can, it is safer to rip them apart and throw them away in different bins, so the boarding pass cannot be reconstructed easily.

This will spare you the risk of being scammed afterwards, and of seeing your bank account severely damaged. In fact, it is even better if you have access to a shredder and can successfully shred your old boarding pass. Better safe than sorry!

Read more: Flight attendant reveals the shocking reason why you should never use the airplane seat pocket

Sources used:

CBS: I-Team: Experts Warn Passengers To Protect Boarding Pass

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