How to Prevent ID Theft While Traveling

When you come back from a trip, you know that your house is going to be secure because you locked up and asked your parents to check on everything. When you leave, you take precautions to keep your home safe from theft. However, when you're on your travels, the chances are you're not so vigilant. Every time you head on a trip, you leave yourself vulnerable to identity theft perpetrated by high- and low-tech criminals. Luckily, even with the advancement of technology, there are preventative tactics you can take to avoid identity theft while traveling.

Before You Travel

Before you head out on your trip, you should tell your bank providers that you're traveling, which will allow them to better track suspicious behavior. Further, you should clean out your wallet and only take essential ID cards. Anything else in your wallet could help criminals identify you.

On the topic of activity monitoring, you should set up an identity theft protection service like BeenVerified. This handy service will monitor the dark web for any personal data leaks. You can find a full BeenVerified review and learn more about its features by following the link.

If you're taking any devices on your holiday, you should ensure that you have updated them before you leave. You should never install updates over a public network because it leaves you vulnerable to attackers. Further, you settle your bills before you leave so that you don't need to log into any sensitive websites while you're away.

While You Travel

Despite taking preventative measures before you go, there are plenty of tactics to take with you on your trip. For instance, your boarding pass will hold sensitive information, so keep it safe at all times. Preferably, you will use a mobile boarding pass. However, if you've got a printed ticket, you should avoid throwing it in the bin. Instead, save it until you get home and use the shredder.

Use the hotel safe to keep your passport and other documents safe. If you want to go the extra mile, you can make a copy of your credit cards and IDs to keep in the safe as well. That way, if your credit card or information gets stolen, you can still use the numbers to close accounts and prove that the ID is yours.

Avoiding scams while traveling is just as important as at home. For example, if you receive a suspicious call to your room asking for personal information, you should verify the call by heading to the front desk.

When you're on holiday, remember your home is sat empty and vulnerable to theft. Therefore, you should avoid using social media on your trip. Although your trip is exciting, you should save the pictures until you are back home. You should also tell anyone you're traveling with not to tag you in their posts. If criminals know that you're away, they are more likely to target your empty house.

On Return

When you return from your trip and you've managed to avoid having your identity stolen, there are still a couple of theft prevention measures you should take. For example, you should examine your credit report and bank statements for anything suspicious. Also, you should change any passwords for accounts that you used while you were away.

We mentioned earlier that you should save posting your pictures on social media until after you return. Although this is true, you need to do this sporadically. If you upload your photos at the same time, criminals will build a profile on you, including spending habits and how much money you have. This will make you a juicy target for potential identity thieves.

What If Your Identity Is Stolen?

No matter what you do while traveling, your information can still be stolen and your secure home can be breached. In the worst case, you have your passport stolen and you're stuck abroad. If this happens, you need to find the nearest embassy and apply for an emergency passport. This will be a one-time passport that will cost around $100. It is in your best interest not to lose your passport.

If you have any of your bank cards stolen, you should contact your provider immediately and have them frozen. Further, you should change any passwords or memorable questions for the account in question.

Criminals are constantly searching for new ways they can steal your identity. Once they have it, they can cause serious damage or simply sell it on the dark web. Unfortunately, owing to the nature of travel, we tend to switch off because we're trying to relax. However, this is where you will be taken advantage of. By using the simple tactics outlined above, you can lock your identity and keep the criminals at bay and get back to relaxation.