Can my identity be stolen if I scan and email my drivers license?

This was one option to confirm my identity before opening a web hosting account. The host claims that this confirmation helps eliminate fraud. It seems like I%26#039;d be opening myself up to fraud if I did it this way. Their email asking me to fax or scan my license (or passport or green card) also asks for feedback on their confirmation process. I%26#039;d love to complain, but I can%26#039;t find anything specific to support my feeling that this is a bad idea. Can someone tell me the specific risks and provide real-life examples? Note that I played it safe(r) and confirmed by phone instead. Thanks! nR.

Can my identity be stolen if I scan and email my drivers license?

Your driver%26#039;s license isn%26#039;t exactly what people look for when stealing identities. All it has is your name and address. Anyone can get that with a phone book.

Your Social Security number is what you need to protect.

Also, it%26#039;s possible to intercept things through email, but it%26#039;s not as common. If you want to feel safer, scan your license then take the image and encrypt it in a zip file.

Winzip can do that pretty easily:

http://www.winzip.com/index.htm

You can add whatever password you want to the file. Then just let them know what the password is.

It%26#039;s a roundabout way of doing things, but it does add another level of security.

Edit:

Another option is to black out the Driver%26#039;s License number. They don%26#039;t need that information.

Apparently, it is more important than I thought. According to PC World, it is one of the two numbers you shouldn%26#039;t reveal.

http://pcworld.about.com/od/privacysecur...