Tens of thousands of scanned passports and IDs stolen from Italian hotel .. what you must know

In the summer of 2025, vacations in Italy came with an unexpected nightmare: data theft. Between June and July, a hacker group calling itself “mydocs” breached reservation systems at ten luxury hotels in cities such as Venice, Trieste, and Capri. Italy’s Agency for Digital Italy (AGID) confirmed that the stolen files included high-resolution scans of passports and national IDs, estimated between 70,000 and 100,000 documents.

At a luxury hotel in Trieste, the breach reportedly involved about 17,000 documents, while a prestigious Venice hotel lost nearly 38,000 records. On underground forums, these stolen identities were offered for sale, with bundles priced anywhere from €800 to €10,000, often with blurred guest photos but fully legible personal details.

The real danger isn’t just digital—it’s personal. These stolen identities can be exploited to forge passports, open bank accounts, or conduct financial fraud, leaving unsuspecting travelers to face the consequences long after their holiday.

Italy’s Postal Police have launched an investigation, urging hotels to formally disclose the breaches and notify affected guests. Reports published on August 16–17, 2025, by TechRadar, Malwarebytes, Cybernews, and The Record highlighted the global scale of the incident and renewed calls for stricter data protection in the hospitality sector.

What travelers should do:

• Avoid handing over digital copies of your ID unless absolutely necessary.

• Ask hotels how they store your data before check-in.

• Monitor your email and financial accounts for unusual activity after traveling.

Your dream trip shouldn’t end in a nightmare. Awareness is your first line of defense.