Never Hand Over Your Original ID Document as Collateral

A landlord, a rental shop, or an informal lender asks to hold your passport or ID card "just until you return the equipment" or "just to be safe" — this request should stop you cold. A legitimate business verifies your identity by looking at your ID and taking a copy, never by physically holding the original, because your ID is the one document that unlocks nearly every other part of your life — banking, travel, proving who you are to any authority. Someone holding your original ID has enormous leverage over you, whether or not they intend to misuse it.

Offer a photocopy, a photo shown on your phone, or a small cash or card deposit instead, and treat any refusal to accept that as a red flag about the business itself. Losing your original ID temporarily can cost you weeks of replacement bureaucracy and block you from doing anything that requires proof of identity in the meantime.