There are a few things someone can do.
So, you’ve lost your driver’s license or you’ve come across a photo of someone’s license on the internet, the original poster did not blur their info, and you are concerned for their personal information. Here’s everything someone can do with your driver’s license, your driver’s license number, or a photo of it.
Embed from Getty ImagesFirst, what’s on a driver’s license? Here’s a list of everything on a California Driver’s license. Your state’s license might have more or less information.
- California issued driver’s license number
- Your picture
- Date of DL issue.
- Full birth name, including middle name.
- Birthday and your age.
- Home address
- Whether you wear corrective lenses.
- Your stated sex, hair color, eye color, height, and weight.
- A copy of your signature
- The barcode and encoded strip out back used to send information to the appropriate state agency when purchasing alcohol, etc. with the above information.
As you can see, there’s a lot.
A family member or someone resembling you can impersonate you.
With your physical license, someone, like a sibling, cousin, or someone who’s specifically stalked you out for your facial features, can impersonate you, using your identity to gain access to age restricted locations, buying alcohol, getting a marijuana card, registering for rewards cards, and, if pulled over, using your identity to pawn off a crash or traffic violation with your information.
Know where you live.
Someone’s address can easily be found on the internet but this is 100 percent proof of your address. With a driver’s license, someone knows what you look like, where you live, and, if they have mal intent, can use that information to their advantage.
Reverse engineer personal passwords.
While passwords are often randomly generated, less tech savvy individuals still use personal dates, middle names, and other identifying information to remember their own passwords. Someone smart enough and, with the right know-how, can expedite cracking a password with more concrete information.
Numerical pin codes, like the ones for someone’s voicemail or Debit/Credit cards, are often tied to birthdays, home addresses, etc.
Access confidential information
While information like your own personal medical file is only accessible from two pieces of information like the last four of your social security and your birthdate, a snooper, hellbent on hurting you, will find a way to get that information.
A driver’s license and a quick trip through your garbage to find mail with the last four of your SSN on it is all they need.
In all likelihood, the chances of the above happening to you are quite slim, but there’s still a possibility of it happening.
In California, impersonating someone is punishable either as a misdemeanor or felony depending on what you did and the severity of the crime. If found guilty, you can get up to three years in jail.
So, if someone is posting a found license online and not blurring their information, link them to this blog post and kindly tell them to delete the post before reposting with the information blacked out. You only need to post a picture of their face and first name, really.
As for your physical license, try not to lose it.
