Member Article

Mobiles more precious than passports

Britons cherish their iPods, jewellery and mobile phones more than their passports, according to the latest research conducted for the Identity and Passport Service (IPS). Despite the fact that over half of those surveyed believed that passports were worth more than £500 to criminals on the black market, many admit they don’t always take great care of them.

Only 22% of adults surveyed said they keep their passport locked away. When it comes to iPods, jewellery and other valuables, 28% said they are locked away and another 44% said they were kept securely. However, only 1% of people said that they keep their valuables in the first place a thief is likely to look - an underwear drawer.

IPS Executive Director Bernard Herdan said: “Passports are often not seen as valuable so get left on a sideboard or put in a file. However, to a thief they are far more valuable than many gadgets and are likely to get stolen in a burglary if not securely locked away. “Your passport is a key identity document and must be looked after. Identity fraud is one of Britain’s fastest growing crimes, enabling other crimes such as illegal immigration, money laundering, people trafficking and terrorism.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .