Travel: Keeping Your Identity Safe

When you’re traveling there are always dangers.  Identity theft has risen as one of those dangers.  In a recent USA Today article, it gives an extensive report of ways to look out for potential thieves and keep your identity safe.  Below are some highlights from the article written by Dara Continenza, a writer for SmarterTravel.com.

Public computers = danger

While many travelers travel with all sorts of personal technology, there are instances where you may need to use a public computer to print your boarding pass, make a reservation, or something else.  Continenza states that public computers are a “hotbed for identity theft.”  There will be plenty of websites that ask to autosave your information onto the computer itself and sometimes you aren’t even asked.  Always delete your history after you have used a public computer and if the public computer is using Google Chrome, you can use an incognito window by pressing “Ctrl + Shift + N.”  The last tip seems fairly obvious.  Avoid checking anything regarding your finances like bank accounts or credit card information.

Use cash

If you have the option to use cash, use it.  If the cash is stolen it is gone, of course, but you won’t be in danger of losing your identity along with it.  If you have to use a card, avoid situations that put it at extreme risk.  Never let someone take your card to a different room.  If the card leaves your sight it is more likely to be used to steal your identity and Continenza points out that overdraft fees could hit you before you even know your identity has been stolen.

ATMs

Many people have had their identity stolen through street side ATMs.  Be wary of non-descript ATMs as it is not all that difficult for hackers to purchase the machine and hack the system to store your information.  Stick with bank branch ATMs and make sure that no one is looking over your shoulder while you input your information.  It is also wise to cover your hand when inputting your PIN.

For more information on the other tips provided, check out the link above.

Travel and Common Sense

Cristopher Elliot with USA Today wrote an interesting article called Is Common Sense in Travel Dead? that sheds light on the average worldly traveler.  Elliot found the necessity to write the article because a reader sent him a photograph of a hotel door sitting ajar.  The man who sent the photograph was Robert Welch, who works for security in a major New Orleans hotel.  Welch also told Elliot that on any given night he would see 25 to 30 doors ajar which accounts for 6% of the hotels rooms.  Whenever he has had to investigate it, doors being ajar have been the number one reason a theft has occurred, Welch said.

So has the common traveler lost their common sense?  Elliot says maybe.

Elliot has investigated more and asked many people in the travel and hospitality business to back up his claims.  He brings up that it doesn’t stop with doors ajar in the hotel hallways.  Many hotel patrons leave expensive electronics by pools and common areas as if they have lost their sense of responsibility once they are in vacation mode. 

After getting in touch with someone who works at a major airline, Elliot discovered that many people who fly have asked where the window seats are on the plane diagram or if they can take hair dryers and flat irons on board.  Many people also appear to have an issue with information kiosks saying that they don’t understand them.

Travelers to exotic landscapes have been known trying to pick up snakes and feeding alligators or crocodiles by hand.

Elliot also spoke from personal experience with such instances as someone asking for a refund for a non-refundable ticket or getting upset that they can’t get their expired frequent flier miles back.

So why are we getting worse at the common sense travel thing?  Elliot believes it is because we have become to reliant upon technology to guide us every step of the way.  Many people Google a destination and believe that they know how to travel in it.  Elliot also goes so far as to claim a “lack of adversity” from our ancestors claiming that this adversity gave our ancestors a wealth of common sense to pass on or killed them off because they didn’t have it either.

So is the common sense traveler dead?  Maybe just dwindling.