How to share a copy of your ID card safely
A clean copy of an ID card can be used again by anyone who gets hold of it. Three small steps make a copy much less useful to anyone except the person you sent it to.
1. Write the purpose across it
Put a line of text over the whole copy that says who it is for and when, such as "For bank account opening only, November 2026". A copy marked like this is hard to pass off for anything else. Add a watermark repeats the line across the page, so it cannot be cut off.
2. Hide what is not needed
If the other side needs only your name and photo, they do not need your ID number, address or signature. Hide private details blacks them out in the picture itself, so they cannot be uncovered later.
Do this only where it is allowed. A bank or a government office that must check the number will need to see it.
3. Send less, and send it carefully
- Send one side if only one was asked for.
- Send it to the office's own address or portal, not to a personal number.
- Shrink the copy to a sensible size. A very sharp, full-size copy is more useful to a forger than a modest one.
- Delete the copy from shared computers and print shops after use.
An extra, hidden mark
You can also hide a mark inside the picture that only your secret word can read, with the hidden watermark. It will not stop misuse, but it can help show later which copy a leaked picture came from.
These steps lower the risk. They do not remove it, so share copies of your ID only when you have to.
Tools for this
- Add a watermark to your ID copy
- Hide your ID number before sharing
- Hide an invisible watermark in a photo
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