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Rogue Employees Sell World Cup Fans' Passport Data

Posted by timothy on from the penalty-box-with-bars-please dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Reports are coming in that the Information Commissioner's Office has started investigating FIFA, the world football governing body, over allegations that details of thousands of World Cup fans' — including their passport data — were accessed by one or more members of staff and then sold on the black market. It is alleged that the details of more than 35,000 English fans — who visited Germany for the 2006 World Cup — had their passport and allied data sold to ticket touts for marketing purposes."

5 of 128 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Why would FIFA have this data? by therblig · · Score: 4, Informative

    I believe it is because there are temporary and lifetime bans handed out to dangerously unruly football fans in Europe. The passport information is to help enforce these bans.

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    I struggled for days and days and all I got was this lousy sig.

  2. The Guardian covered this last week by jayemcee · · Score: 4, Informative

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/sep/05/fifa-passports-claims The most interesting bit is that Sepp Blatter's nephew is involved with the company at fault.

  3. No Primary Key by Itninja · · Score: 3, Informative

    What exactly does my passport data reveal about me? Here's what (with US passports anyway):

    - My name (for common names, no big deal)
    - My birthday (kinda private, but I give i
    - My gender
    - My birthplace
    - Where I got my passport (issuing authority)
    - Date validity (when I got it and when it expires)

    That's it.

    My name is not exactly a secret (I give it to total strangers all the time). Plus, it's a common one in the US, so (obviously) a lot of people have it.
    My birthday is kind of personal, but there very little someone could do with it without having more data.
    My gender is easily guessable once you know my first name.
    My birthplace lists only the country, and not the city. Useless.
    My issuing authority is even less specific: 'US Department of State'.
    Date validity is also useless.

    It's not as if my passport lists my SSN, home address, credit history, or anything else that can be used to steal my money or identity. Perhaps they have a lot more personal info in other countries' passports, but not in mine.

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    1. Re:No Primary Key by jimicus · · Score: 2, Informative

      It'll also have a passport number, which means there's quite enough on there to produce a fake passport. It may or may not pass muster at international borders, but it'd almost certainly be adequate ID at a bank.

      Clue: Anyone who wants to purchase 30,000 valid passport details almost certainly has the resources to get their hands on genuine blank passports from the country of their choice and print them appropriately. The only clue that the passport they produce would be fake would be the photograph, and even that may not be a problem if Fifa are reading the RFID chip on the newer passports.

  4. Re:Why is your passport # needed to buy a ticket? by thegarbz · · Score: 2, Informative

    I believe FIFA uses this to enforce international bans on some of the "special" fans. Think the English team in Euro Trip.