Traveling over the holiday weekend? Con artists are always looking to take advantage of busy and distracted travelers. Popular getaway spots can be hot spots for identity thieves, pickpockets and other con artists.
Help to deter identity thieves while away from home with these BBB traveling tips:
Set up a travel alert on your financial accounts. Let your bank and credit card companies know you’ll be using your money and cards in places outside of your normal spending habits. Or, if you previously set limits on your accounts, you’ll likely need to adjust your settings accordingly.
Be smart with Wi-Fi connections. Don’t use free public Wi-Fi to access sensitive accounts. Consider using a virtual private network (VPN) or a personal hotspot if you need a more secure connection. Set your device settings to ask permission before connecting to a network.
Don’t overshare vacation plans on social media. Depending on your social media privacy settings and current connections, complete strangers may have access to your posts and see that you’re away from home.
Protect your devices. Set up the “find my phone” feature on your devices. This will allow you to find, remotely wipe data and/or disable the device if it gets into the wrong hands. Make sure all of your devices are password protected.
Check for card skimming devices. Skimmers are illegal card readers often attached to gas pumps or ATMs that take data from a card’s magnetic stripe. Criminals use the stolen data by either selling your information or using it to make purchases, often online.
In addition, place a hold on your mail while you are away, so mail with account information isn’t piling up. And carry only necessities in your wallet while you travel.
Find out what scams are trending in your North American destination with BBB Scam Tracker on bbb.org.