When you travel, your assets and identity may be more at risk. Knowing how to travel safely can help. Before you go on vacation, protect your home by putting mail on a postal hold, setting lights on a timer, and pausing delivery of the morning paper. On the road, avoid entering personal information on shared computers and public Wi-Fi to shield against identity theft.
Did you know that travel is linked to a higher risk of identity theft?
Before you plan your next vacation, be aware of today’s common travel scams and how to avoid them.
Then, when it’s time for your trip, try these travel safety tips from our identity specialists to help you avoid fraud while you’re away.
#1 Make sure your place looks lived-in while you’re gone
Packages and papers accumulating on the front porch can signal to thieves that nobody’s home.
Before you leave, consider putting mail on a postal hold, setting lights on a timer, and pausing delivery of the morning paper. If you can, ask a friend to stop by each day to remove advertising fliers and anything else that piles up on the stoop in your absence.
#2 Leave sensitive items at home
When you’re packing your bags, consider what’s in your wallet. Your Social Security card and any bank cards you don’t use regularly should stay in a safe place at home.
Then, consider whether you’ll really need your tablet and laptop. Electronics often hold sensitive personal information. Leave behind the devices you won’t need to reduce the risk of exposure.
#3 Be mindful about social media
If you’re tempted to document your travels on social sites, remember this: posting from the road is like advertising that you’re not home. Bad actors can use this knowledge to gain access to your physical address or target you with highly personalized phishing attacks.
If you want to share about your trip, avoid posting in real-time and opt for a #latergram once you’re back at home.
#4 Safeguard your devices
What if your smartphone is lost or stolen while you’re on the go? If your phone winds up in the wrong hands, your personally identifiable information (PII) is at risk of being exposed.
If you’re a member and that happens, know that we’ll be with you every step of the way, so you can spend less of your trip worrying about identity theft.
In addition, if you lose your phone, you may lose access to important personal information — such as your login credentials and saved passwords — that you need while traveling.
So much of our lives happen online. Consider the details you’d need to keep things running if your phone got swiped. You can store encrypted backups of your data in a secure cloud or offline location so you’ll have that information within reach even if your device goes missing.
#5 Take care with rental cars
It’s handy to pair your smartphone and rental car for hands-free use. But this may add your contacts, playlists, and other personal content to the car’s system, which can lead to unwanted exposure of your information.
When you return the rental, take care to unpair your phone and delete any data that’s been shared.
#6 Be wary of shared computers and public Wi-Fi
Airport and hotel business centers are convenient, but know that some public computers may be infected with spyware or malware designed to capture your activity.
Public Wi-Fi networks pose risks, too: cybercriminals on the same connection may be able to access your information.
To protect yourself while traveling, use encrypted internet connections whenever possible. A virtual private network (VPN) like the one we offer is probably the safest bet.
We’re only a phone call away
Even the best security practices can’t offer complete protection against identity theft, and there’s no predicting when fraud will happen to you.
Still, nobody wants to spend their vacation untangling fraud. If you have an Allstate Identity Protection plan and something does come up while you’re away, you won’t have to face it alone.
Our certified specialists will be on hand to guide you, and to manage your identity remediation from start to finish. If you’re a member, we hope this gives you peace of mind so you can better enjoy your next trip. Safe travels!
