Longrider

This story, picked up on the NO2ID forums makes disturbing reading as I can see other operators making similar demands.

LERWICK Community Council has joined the ranks of those slamming plans by ferry operator NorthLink to introduce a photo ID system for passengers travelling to and from the Northern Isles.

The controversial ID system, which NorthLink plans to introduce from 1st May, is being introduced as part of a bid to ensure the ferry company has the true identity of its passengers.

On the plus side, local councils oppose the proposal, but what is the rationale for the company to know who people are? One of the correspondents on the NO2ID forum wrote and asked. The response was typically bland and lacking in any reasonable explanation.

For a number of reasons it has become increasingly important for NorthLink to be able to have confidence that those traveling on its vessels are who they say they are. We are aware of recent incidents – several of which have been reported in the press – where passengers have traveled under false names specifically to avoid identification. So while we know that it can and does happen, we have a responsibility to do what we can to ensure that we know who is on the ship at any time.

They need to know the amount of people on the vessel, they don’t need to know who they are, though. Or, for that matter that they are who they say they are. That, frankly, is none of the carrier’s business. So what if people want to avoid identification? That is their business. There may be perfectly rational and legal reasons why someone is travelling under a false persona. Indeed, last month I was doing just that. I was carrying out a legitimate activity on behalf of one of my clients and it involved being someone else for the day. Getting used to a new name and identity isn’t that straightforward – you have to keep reminding yourself who you are and remembering to respond to your new name. Oh, and realising that in the haste to set everything up, none of your cheques, debit or credit cards are in the new name, so you need to resort to cash. This false identity lark takes some thinking about. I’m not sure I want to make a habit of it.

However, I’m drifting away from my point; ferry companies need some basic information in the event of a problem – who to tell when you’ve drowned following their ferry hitting another vessel, for example. What they do not need is photo ID. Nor, for that matter do they need your real name. What they need is what you or I deign to tell them and nothing more. If I give a fake name with fake details, then that’s my lookout if it all goes tits-up. I know who I am. If I think you need to know, I’ll tell you. Otherwise, it’s no one’s business but mine. I intend to do all in my power to keep it that way.

Footnote: To highlight the absurdity of what this company is doing, last month I was in possession of a photo ID card with my false name on it. So, what use is a photo ID?

Graham Boynton paints a worrying picture of bank fraud in the Telegraph.

It was a moment I have always dreaded - indeed, have had nightmares about. In my nightmare, I put my debit card into the ATM and the card is returned: there is no money in my account. I am left in ruins, forced to take shelter under the arches at Charing Cross Station with the homeless.

Indeed. So easy is it to clone a card that there is always the underlying unease that someone has been playing fast and loose with my limited funds. I recall a few years back a colleague being telephoned about some rather large transactions in Australia. He had never been to Australia and the transactions were stopped – along with his card. He never did discover the where and when of the theft. Anyway, Graham finds out that his account has been raided:

I sprinted to the nearest Barclays to find out what was going on. Confronted by an ashen-faced man in a suit, my adviser was calmness personified: having your account ransacked was, she explained, not uncommon, and it was “quite likely that all my funds would be reimbursed”.

Apparently, just two days earlier, a similarly panicked customer had seen his mortgage payment bounce thanks to a fraud almost identical in method and scale to my own.

Replicate this around the world and this is multi billion business. How, though, did they get Graham’s card details?

My next Miss Marple moment was the realisation that the cards had only been in the same place at the same time in the safe of my hotel room. Obviously, one of the staff had the combination and had grabbed my cards and the details had been sent to Miami.

Well, that was a pretty stupid thing to do, wasn’t it? Never, never, leave bank cards, wallets, cheque boots et al in your hotel safe. It isn’t safe. This is a theft that could have so easily been avoided.

And if you can’t leave your valuables in a hotel safe, where can you leave them?

I always keep mine on my person when out and about. I certainly don’t leave them in a hotel safe.