Don’t just throw away your duty-free shop receipts as they can be a source of identity theft

If you shop at airports and collect your receipts from duty-free shops, beware! Your personal details are visible on the receipts and can be the target of identity thieves.

The receipts itemises what you purchase and the slips could also include details like your date of birth and even your passport number, says The Sun newspaper which reproduced the article from an Australian news site.

A traveller from Perth, Australia going on holiday and traveling from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Phuket in Thailand highlighted the security issue.

A passenger Colin Ahearn posted a video shopping at the airport on Facebook, showing the receipt for a bottle of Wild Turkey American Honey Liqueur and Smirnoff Red Label Vodka that he’d paid for while in the duty-free shopping area.

But after arriving at his holiday destination, Colin’s wife Tracey saw the personal details printed at the bottom of the duty-free receipt moments before he was going to throw it in the bin.

They discovered key personal information had been printed on the receipt, including full name, date of birth, passport number as well as flight details.

It is customary to hand over travel documents— particularly the passports to make the purchase.

Throwing the receipts in the bin may be hazardous. It is a known fact that thieves are out there looking for receipts to extract personal information they can use for identity theft.

An identity theft expert told Yahoo News the information on the receipt was “very concerning”.

In Malaysia, there has been reports of thieves going through bins at ATM’s to look for receipts with the hope they can extract some information to steal identities.

Card and ATM users are also warned not to throw or leave behind receipts.

Discarded ATM receipts are a primary means of identity theft and account fraud, says a tech portal.

“It can depend on your bank, but there are common traits. At least part of your debit card number is displayed, as well as your account number,” it says.