Least Worst Way to Print Sensitive Documents on the Go

February 18, 2024 8:24 PM

I'm in Kuala Lumpur and need to print a statement from a bank account with a decent amount of $'s. There are print shops here where you hand over a thumb drive and they do the printing for you, but that doesn't sit too well with me from a security angle. The best option I've found so far is this place which does self-service document printing: what is the level of risk here, or am I worrying about nothing?
posted by my log does not judge to Grab Bag (9 answers total)

Perhaps a library would offer printing? Check the city’s public library system’s services page here; the “library facilities” subsection doesn’t mention printers but does mention access to computers. I’d call them and ask if you can self-administer your own printing.
posted by mdonley at 9:01 PM on February 18 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: @mdonley: thanks - they do have printing services, 20c for non-members.
posted by my log does not judge at 9:26 PM on February 18

The main concern is whether the statement has complete account numbers on it - the account numbers are the main risk. Do you have a laptop where you could potentially save this as a PDF or Word document, and then edit it to obscure the numbers before printing?
posted by TimHare at 10:58 PM on February 18 [3 favorites]

Why would account numbers be a concern? I'll give you mine if you want, all you can do with them without being me is put money into the account and lots of strangers that have bought stuff from me already have them. I assume the security concern is that showing people you have $$$ could make you a target of theft or similar.
posted by deadwax at 2:09 AM on February 19

Honestly if there's a scam involving those print stations it's not known enough for locals to be aware of such a thing (bank statements). You might not even need a thumb drive, if you're ok with sending a copy to the shop email (if the security issue is the device).
posted by cendawanita at 6:08 AM on February 19

Why would account numbers be a concern? I'll give you mine if you want, all you can do with them without being me is put money into the account and lots of strangers that have bought stuff from me already have them.

Clarkson stung after bank prank (2008)

TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson has lost money after publishing his bank details in his newspaper column.
The Top Gear host revealed his account numbers after rubbishing the furore over the loss of 25 million people's personal details on two computer discs.

He wanted to prove the story was a fuss about nothing.

But Clarkson admitted he was "wrong" after he discovered a reader had used the details to create a £500 direct debit to the charity Diabetes UK.

posted by caek at 8:32 AM on February 19

The Clarkson story does not point to any serious danger in a random person getting hold of one's UK bank details.

In order to receive direct debits, an organisation is carefully vetted by their bank who sponsors them and will be responsible for misuse of the system. In Clarkson's case he could have received a refund of the donation made from his account and the charity would have been obliged to provide it with the charity's bank acting as a guarantor. The risk of losing money permanently from a fraudulent direct debit is therefore close to zero.

Furthermore, since Clarkson's experience in 2008 the system has been strengthened to prevent malicious third parties setting up direct debits on behalf of someone else.
posted by Busy Old Fool at 3:27 PM on February 19

Buy a cheap printer and donate it or sell it when you're done. If you have access to some of those $s it could be worth it for the security.
posted by Small Dollar at 5:47 PM on February 19

I would imagine you have minimal risk from locals doing anything with your information; they are unlikely to have a steady stream of foreigners coming into their shop to print sensitive documents to know how to extract value from them.

The main concern I would have is whether the computers involved have data-stealing malware on them, and unfortunately it's difficult to tell if that's an issue without inspecting the computer and having technical know-how to figure that out. This can bite you in even the most trustworthy setting, like a domestic Staples or whatever, and the best you can do is hope they keep their PCs up to date with virus scanning and run the print accounts with minimal privileges. If piracy is rampant and they're all running cracked, out-of-date software, then this might be more of a risk.

Buying your own printer would probably be the most straightforward way to absolutely minimize risk here, but you being abroad doesn't necessarily make printing at a shop any more risky than doing it at home, I'd say.
posted by Aleyn at 1:31 PM on February 21