With many of us hitting the roads for the holidays, here are some helpful travel tips:
1. Don’t announce your travel plans on social media. This invites identity thieves to target your house while you’re away.
2. Place a hold on your mail and newspapers. When criminals see an overflowing mailbox, they see an easy way to steal personal information/ house to burgle.
3. Carry only necessities in your wallet when traveling. Go through your wallet and leave your other cards at home.
4. Set up a travel alert on your credit card accounts, and freeze your credit with the three credit bureaus.
5. Leave your laptop computer at home if you can. If you must travel with a personal laptop, update your anti-virus and anti-spyware programs. Do not access bank accounts from your laptop while in a hotel room or at a coffee shop or other public location.
6. While staying at a hotel, lock important documents such as your passport in a safe.
7. Use only ATMs located in banks.
8. Protect your personal smartphone. Create a password for access, and use an application with a GPS locator to find your phone if it is lost or stolen.
9. Don’t put your full name and address on luggage tags. Include just your last name and phone number.
10. Tear up and discard used boarding passes. Many travelers leave boarding passes behind in airplanes or hotels. They often contain full names and other personal information.
