5 Way to prevent identiy during Travelling

Delete All Cookies and Browsing History on Public Terminals

If you find you must use a public computer, the last thing you should do before you walk away is delete all cookies and browsing history before you log off. Many computers can cache quite a bit of significant information, and some websites are even set up to keep you logged in when you close the browser unless you specifically log off (such as Facebook and LinkedIn). Many public terminals will delete this type of data automatically, but doing it yourself offers much better peace of mind.

Use a Dedicated Travel E-mail Address

 

When I see messages arrive from overseas via work email accounts, I shake my head every time. If someone gets access to your work email account, the amount of damage they could do to your livelihood is inestimable. Certainly, there are times when you need to log in to your work account, but you will want to use caution in the extreme at those times.

My suggestion, in this case, is to use a personal email address when possible while traveling, one at which you store no sensitive information and at which a fake log-in won’t be cataclysmic, and communicate from that email address exclusively. On occasion you will see addresses like johndoetravelemail@gmail.com; this travel-exclusive email approach can work very well.

Use Only Bank ATMs

A recent trend among identity thieves has been to install card readers in an ATM by which they can access your card number and PIN. This happens most often at non-bank, “generic” ATMs (in hotels, convenience stores, etc.), which have less oversight and are therefore more vulnerable than bank-run and hosted ATMs. Stick with the ones at banks; these can still be compromised, but tend to be targeted by thieves much less often.

Check Your Credit Card Statements on Occasion

Even at times when you are confident in the security of your connection—perhaps in a friend’s home, or when connecting using a smartphone app over a regular cell 3G or 4G connection (which tend to be more secure than public Wi-Fi)—check your credit card statement for suspicious activity.

Identity thieves like picking travelers as victims, as they rely to some extent on the delay in being found out that is inherent to travel; most travelers don’t check bank and credit card information until well after they have returned home, giving thieves a solid head start. As a rule, the sooner you can shut down an identity thief, the better, so consider checking in now and then to make sure things look normal.

Keep Your Cell Phone Secure

We think a lot about how vulnerable our computers are, but cell phones are potentially even more so: you have them on you at all times, they’re almost always turned on and logged in, they typically have apps on them that give access to personal information, and folks leave them lying around quite a bit. If there is anything you might lose or have stolen, it is a small, compact smartphone. Some things you can do to protect yourself:

– Set a password on the phone so someone who finds or steals it can’t use it.

– Before traveling, consider deleting any especially sensitive apps, such as banking apps, social networks, etc. They are easy to reinstall when you get home.

– Specifically, log out of all apps before going out and about. As above with some websites, many apps keep you logged in by default (Facebook, Twitter, Angry Birds, you name it).

– Remain wary of suspicious emails and websites. Studies indicate folks are much more likely to click on malware links on their cell phone than on their computer.

– All of the foregoing cautions about public Wi-Fi spots go for your cell phone as well.