Thieves happy with new drivers' licences

By CHRIS DANIELS consumer reporter

Some thieves seem just as happy with the new photo drivers' licences as the police.

Banks are warning anyone using their date of birth as a bank or credit card PIN number to change it because photo licences show each owner's date of birth.

If a credit card and licence are stolen together, thieves can quickly drain a victim's account from a money machine.

One Onehunga woman had her car broken into while it was parked in Cornwall Park last month. She did not want her name used for fear the thieves would find where she lived.

Her wallet was stolen, along with her husband's driving licence.

She immediately cancelled the two credit cards but not before the thieves had withdrawn $2500 from the Epsom North branch of the National Bank.

The bank has reimbursed her half of the $2000 lost to the thieves, but the Bank of New Zealand has refused to help her with the $500 lost from a gold card.

Land Transport Safety Authority spokesman Craig Dowling said the story was an unfortunate lesson in the perils of using a date of birth as a PIN number.

Having a date of birth printed on the licence provided yet another check for police on a driver's identity and might give a clue to a forgery.

People who had chosen to have their address printed on a licence should take care not to have it attached to, or near, house or car keys.

National Bank spokeswoman Cynthia Brophy said the bank advised customers not to pick a PIN number that could be easily deduced by thieves.

"We've said this at length, but it is a timely reminder for people to be extremely careful about any PIN number."

Anyone with their date of birth as a PIN number should immediately change it to something else.

Epsom community Constable Martin Felton said it was common for people to use their date of birth as a PIN number.

He said community teams - regular park walkers who reported anything suspicious - had reduced the number of cars being broken into at Cornwall Park.