Scan of my passport?? wtf!

schrodinger

Hey all,

My girlfriend is going for an interview with a recruitment agency for a role in cust. support with another company. But for the interview the recruitment agency have asked her to bring along her passport so that they can take a scan of her passport.

wtf?!?

Is this actually normal for a job that doesn't exactly require some mental clearance to "top secret" data

I wouldn't see a reason why they would need it, I doubt she needs guards clearance for this job although job might involve access to credit card information...., I don't think they need the passport to verify her nationality. So what can it be then? Can she refuse? Can she ask them to sign something regarding the use of the scan, how it's kept and who will it be shared with?

Another thing is that if she weren't offered the job then some recruitment agency has a scanned copy her passport!!!!

Mr. Presentable

What's the problem? They want a bona fide record of her name and date of birth. She can refuse, but maybe they won't take her on then. Has she a drivers licence she can offer instead?

Martyr

i've heard of that before, but its unnecessary, and on that basis would refuse.. even if it meant not getting the job.

axer

What is she afraid will happen to the scan? i.e. what's the problem?

Martyr

axer wrote:

What is she afraid will happen to the scan? i.e. what's the problem?

why do they need it? when was it ever required in the past to supply a scan of your passport to get a job? ..its not necessary.

the only people i've ever known to do this in practice with their employees are scammers..

axer

Average Joe wrote:

why do they need it? when was it ever required in the past to supply a scan of your passport to get a job? ..its not necessary.

the only people i've ever known to do this in practice with their employees are scammers..

Maybe considering she will have access to credit card data they want to know she is who she says she is. Maybe they had problems with staff in the past.

Mr. Presentable

Proof of identity. Let her offer another. She's not a non-national, is she?

schrodinger

nipplenuts wrote:

What's the problem? They want a bona fide record of her name and date of birth. She can refuse, but maybe they won't take her on then. Has she a drivers licence she can offer instead?

well I just don't see why anyone but hte goverment and her should have a copy of her passport, privacy and all. No she doesn't drive.

Average Joe wrote:

i've heard of that before, but its unnecessary, and on that basis would refuse.. even if it meant not getting the job.

I would be of the same opinion, there shouldn't be a need for it at all.

axer wrote:

What is she afraid will happen to the scan? i.e. what's the problem?

Tell you what, will you meet me in town tomorrow so I can scan your passport or would you have a problem with that?

axer wrote:

..........
Maybe considering she will have access to credit card data they want to know she is who she says she is. Maybe they had problems with staff in the past.

Thats why companies have confidentiality agreements that they ask employees to sign, I've had to sign a few myself. I've even work I.T. in a hospital and I don't *THINK* I had to provide my passport or a copy of it, but don't quote me on that - my memory isn't great.

nipplenuts wrote:

Proof of identity. Let her offer another. She's not a non-national, is she?

Such as? Would a guarda card be ok do yo reckon, although suppose it's up to the recruitment agency. No, Irish national.

axer

schrodinger wrote:

Tell you what, will you meet me in town tomorrow so I can scan your passport or would you have a problem with that?

Why would I care if you have a copy of my passport or not. What could you possibly do with it? Its just a form of identification. Can you suggest a better way of showing her identification? I honestly cannot see what the big deal is here.

Rhonda9000

axer wrote:

Why would I care if you have a copy of my passport or not. What could you possibly do with it? Its just a form of identification. Can you suggest a better way of showing her identification? I honestly cannot see what the big deal is here.

I think what he was eluding to is the problem of identity theft.

Martyr

Why would I care if you have a copy of my passport or not. What could you possibly do with it? Its just a form of identification. Can you suggest a better way of showing her identification? I honestly cannot see what the big deal is here.

a scan could be used to make a counterfeit..it DOES happen.
why is it nearly as good as a stolen/lost passport?

counterfeits are easier to make these days, what with the technology to do it becoming cheaper all the time. The owner doesn't report a stolen/lost passport, so its not kept on database by authorities.

A passport, fake or not would be worth alot of money to some people.

not saying the cust. support company would do that!!
but whats to stop someone applying for a job there based on someone elses identity anyway? thats why having a scan is unnecessary IMHO.

sometimes all scammers need are your address and bank details, and they can proceed to impersonate you by counterfeiting other documents.

perhaps the company can do background checks on people, for criminal records..but isn't that illegal without the consent of the person in question?

Irish Wolf

schrodinger wrote:

No she doesn't drive.

Simple - just tell her to tell them that she's never travelled out of the country either and she's got no passport...

chances are they may ask for a photocopy of her birth certificate though...

mathias

Scans of passports for security reasons are becoming very common these days , for instance going through a mortgage broker ,( there are only a couple of banks left that wont ask for a scan of your passport ! ) buying online , buying a car , travelling outside europe ( at the ticket buying stage ) these are all instances where Ive been asked for a scan of my passport lately , I usually black out some of the passport number , that seems to be alright for most places.

Irish Wolf

mathias wrote:

Scans of passports for security reasons are becoming very common these days , for instance going through a mortgage broker ,( there are only a couple of banks left that wont ask for a scan of your passport ! ) buying online , buying a car , travelling outside europe ( at the ticket buying stage ) these are all instances where Ive been asked for a scan of my passport lately , I usually black out some of the passport number , that seems to be alright for most places.

Yup - and check into almost any hostel, guesthouse or hotel abroad and they'll take a copy of it...

:eek: there could be thousands of people pretending to be me!!

robfitz

I think the question isn't should I prove my identity to the company but why the company feels the need to ask me to prove my identity. Why can't I just show them my ID, why do they need to make a copy?

Is there any relevant legislation national or based EU which would require an employee to identify themselves to an employer? Or an employer to be able to identify an employee?

What information is an employer required to get from an employee?

As far as I'm aware Irish citizens are not required to have any form of ID. You are required to have a valid drivers license if you chose to drive a motor vehicle and a passport if we chose to leave the country. So how is a non-driving and non-holidaying person suppose to get a job?

It's the thin edge of the wedge to embedding a chip in everybody at birth and tracking everything we do.

Sully

As far as im aware, its not common practise for Guest Houses to scan passports. At least not in Ireland.

schrodinger

Average Joe wrote:

...........

perhaps the company can do background checks on people, for criminal records..but isn't that illegal without the consent of the person in question?

That's a good point, any ideas how one could find out?

irish wolf wrote:

Simple - just tell her to tell them that she's never travelled out of the country either and she's got no passport...

chances are they may ask for a photocopy of her birth certificate though...

What about giving them her PPS number?

robfitz wrote:

I think the question isn't should I prove my identity to the company but why the company feels the need to ask me to prove my identity. Why can't I just show them my ID, why do they need to make a copy?

.................

Thats pretty much the point I'm trying to make here and astonished that alot of people aren't picking up on that or see it as a problem.

robfitz wrote:

.......
What information is an employer required to get from an employee?
........

I do argue that this would probably depend on the job.

robfitz wrote:

.........
So how is a non-driving and non-holidaying person suppose to get a job?
..........

I'm sure a lot of people will argue that both is uncommon, I for one know my parents made it a point for me to have a passport from a young age to make sure I had one for holidays and considering it seems to be such a requirement these days nearly everyone has one.

OTK

The recruitment company is open to prosecution if it employs staff without the right to work in this country. So, to reduce this risk, the manager asks staff to keep a copy of each applicant's passport on file. Requiring a copy rather an visual check means he has proof later and makes it harder for staff to claim that they checked when they didn't.

The thing about these procedures is that you can usually get around them. Tell the staff that you can't find your passport but you'll bring it in next time. So long as you're clearly Irish, they're unlikely to care. I wouldn't want my passport copied by anyone other than the bank, for fear it leaks out and is used for identity theft.

The recruitment company is supposed to do a bit of candidate checking, and a very basic check is to verify their identity. I worked with a guy supplied by an agency who turned out to be an armed robber who had skipped trial. Doesn't look good for the agency. I have never been asked for ID by an agency, so I could have done my previous jobs under false names and, for example, not paid any tax.

The passport scan is verifed data to put in the recruiters database. Even a photo! This would be an illegal use of the information without your consent.

An employer has no legal way of obtaining your criminal record without your participation in the process. (He asks you to fill in a form to apply for your criminal record and then requires that you show him the results).

Lastly what if the employee is in an accident, particularly a foreign employee and you need to contact the police or the family and all you have is a name as transcribed by an administrator? What if the employee robs you but misspelt his name and gave the wrong date of birth?

Mr. Presentable

schrodinger wrote:

What about giving them her PPS number?

Or someone else's, which is probably what they are trying to avoid.

Either she wants the job or not. Let her give it or don't.

As for identity theft, her school probably has her name, pps number, date of birth. Her bank has them. Her previous employer has her name and PPS, the Welfare office also, if she ever claimed benefit. If I know her date of birth I can get a copy birth cert from the register. The ID theft thing is, in other words, cobblers.

Newaglish

Sully wrote:

As far as im aware, its not common practise for Guest Houses to scan passports. At least not in Ireland.

I've had it happen before once or twice in Ireland. It happens every time I check into a hostel or hotel in a foreign country.

Quote:
Originally Posted by robfitz
I think the question isn't should I prove my identity to the company but why the company feels the need to ask me to prove my identity. Why can't I just show them my ID, why do they need to make a copy?


Thats pretty much the point I'm trying to make here and astonished that alot of people aren't picking up on that or see it as a problem.

I mean really, it's fairly standard for everything to be recorded for legal reasons. If it's company policy to look for identification, then standard procedure would require that ID check to be recorded. It won't do any good 5 years down the line when you say "Oh yeah, I think Mary in accounts had a look at their passport at some stage".


Seriously, they can't do anything with your passport. I'd be more worried about someone getting my bank details. Your passport alone is simply photo ID that allows you to leave the country. Why would you agree to giving a garda ID and not a passport?

There are a million and one reasons why they would like to verify your identity. Anyway, any employer has access to all your bank details anyway. I'd be more worried about that.

Huggles

I had this before,

Its sort of a way to kill several birds with one stone.

This is for a recruitment company that are going to open a file for your gf, they have her national details and pic all at once

Its really not an issue.

Your passport is used as identity for a lot these days (had to scan mine and send it off to Rabo the other day)

Relax, its not a problem

testicle

Sully wrote:

As far as im aware, its not common practise for Guest Houses to scan passports. At least not in Ireland.

It is abroad. It is, or at least was, a legal requirement in France. The Gendarme would call to every hotel every morning, and get the details of who was staying there the night before.

Pythia

testicle wrote:

It is abroad. It is, or at least was, a legal requirement in France. The Gendarme would call to every hotel every morning, and get the details of who was staying there the night before.

Wow, what a waste of police time!

I got a job recently and they asked before the interview for me to bring

Copy of your Leaving Cert results and original for verification
Original Photo ID (e.g. Passport) and photocopy
Original Bank Statement or Utility Bill showing your name and address within the last 6 months and photocopy of same

I wanted the job so I brought them. I'm Irish and it was an Irish company.

Civilian_Target

I thought this was pretty normal. All bar one of the jobs I've had, that I can think of, have asked for my passport. No-one's asked for any proof of my qualifications, and one of my referees says he's only been called once, which shows the (bizarre) importance larger employers seem to place on it.

PeakOutput

way way overreaction op.

i wasnt asked for a passport just for photo id so i photocopied my driving licence and that was fine.

if you think they want it for anything dubious are they really a company your girlfriend wants to work for?

pow wow

Civilian_Target wrote:

I thought this was pretty normal. All bar one of the jobs I've had, that I can think of, have asked for my passport. No-one's asked for any proof of my qualifications, and one of my referees says he's only been called once, which shows the (bizarre) importance larger employers seem to place on it.

Ditto, every job I've had in the last 5 years say have always taken a copy of my passport. It has never once entered my head that an employer would use it for anything other than Id-ing me, even if some weirdo in HR was selling print offs of my passport lol. I know with all this hoo-ha about identity theft people should be aware, but for employment purposes with a reputable company I really don't see the problem.

Irish Wolf

Sully wrote:

As far as im aware, its not common practise for Guest Houses to scan passports. At least not in Ireland.

Hmm.. perhaps, but I was asked for photo identification not long back in a B&B in Galway..

schrodinger wrote:

What about giving them her PPS number?

I guess if she has a PPS number there's a birth certificate floating about somewhere - but regardless of that - she's going to have to disclose her PPS number once she starts working..

Unfortunately (in some respects), there is legislation in place that for certain types of employment, a company can not employ a non-EU citizen unless they can prove that they've advertised for 6 months and have not aquirred a suitable EU candidate..

So many companies do have to do checks on nationality in order to comply with certain legislation before they decide to employ a particular individual..

That is my understanding of the system after a year of failing to help a South African friend of mine relocate here..

mastermind2005

This is so the recruitment company can identify the individual if they need to return and collect forms ect...:rolleyes:

testicle

Pythia wrote:

Wow, what a waste of police time!

Used for tracking down Criminals. Have you never seen the Jackal?

RainyDay

The people at the Data Protection Commissioner's Office are pretty good for discussing things like this over the phone and giving an opinion on the legalitly or otherwise.

Tiesto

it really wouldnt bother me if people were going around with a copy of my passport pretending to be me..
the world would be a better place !!