What damage can person/s do if they have your passport number and visa control number?
I read What are the potential hazards of my passport or visa number being made public? as well as What harm can be done with a copy of one's passport? but it doesn't tell of what damages can be done. I have seen several sites on which people share/show the visa without the numbers and sometimes without name as well.
The only reason which many people perceive is identity theft but am unable to see how is that possible. I have to use public facilities such as printing, scanning etc. where it is easy for the operator to make copies without my consent. Also as shared, both these details are widely circulated when you stay in a hotel or anywhere else (when abroad) where identity information is needed.
Also particular to visas, as I'm given to understand, for short-stay visas (less than 3 months) which most tourist visas operate under, the window of doing anything nefarious activities (such as terrorism) would be extremely small. If I were a terrorist and I needed those bits to make work, then I would probably go for somebody who has a long-term stay as those credentials would look valid and I could jump from place to place under the radar under a fraudulent identity. Also as a terrorist, I would take quite a long view as any such attack takes years of planning, as shown in the investigation of various terrorist attacks in India as well as the U.S. Also, although I don't know (am speculating here) don't most airports might/should be checking on status quo of a passport to ensure issues such as showing 2 entries of a passport without exit (in some database where this information is collected and collated.)
Am I missing something in the logic here ?
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