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THE identity theft of Yemeni student in the recent attempted parcel bombing case raises a number of questions for the residents of Bahrain.

As expatriate residents of the kingdom, our CPR and passport are two of the most valued documents that we possess.

We need both, or at least the CPR, for every perceivable activity - opening a bank account, getting a credit card, a drivers licence, consulting a doctor at a hospital, hiring a car or even entering a school or building.

We also innocently give out all our details in the innumerable loyalty cards from different chain stores that offer us redeemable points or Air Miles in exchange for a purchase.

Nowadays, with the number of promotions at the hypermarkets and malls around the country, thousands of shoppers enter their names, CPR numbers and mobile numbers for that all important prize possibility.

These little slips of papers are often put into big glass rotating containers where the contents get stuck on the sides and end up displaying these vital details for everyone to see.

What happens after the contest is over? Are these little slips shredded in a secure manner? Do they get taken to a paper recycling factory?

We are too willing to compromise all our personal information.

For intelligent hackers to glean out a lot more personal information all they need is a name, CPR number and telephone number. The rest could be provided by the directories, social networking sites, clubs and community and official offices we have provided information to.

The CPR card, which we innocently give to the security guard as photo identification when we enter buildings also includes our address, passport number, date of birth and address.

I believe it is high time for all of us, especially concerned authorities, to consider these issues and insist on a secure privacy policy ... and for supermarkets to find other ways of identifying the shopper who has won their jackpot!

Lakshmi Rajagopalan,

Mahooz.