Follow these steps to protect your personal information when you’re away from home.
It’s easy to become a victim of identity theft while traveling, whether for work or pleasure. Follow these tips to protect yourself.
Follow the instructions to guard your personal information when you are away from work or pleasure. Today it is very easy to be a victim of identity theft while traveling. Try to follow the instructions below:
1. Inform your credit card company knows if you’ll be traveling. Especially when out of the country. Banks nowadays are more vigilant about any unusual activity on your card, however if you are away from home when the bank calls to verify the charges, modify your account frozen while you are out of town. Prevent hassle and inform your bank about your travel
2. Don’t automatically call bank the financial institution the number that claims to be from the bank. Remember if you received a call or e-mail regarding a suspicious activity on your card, don’t call back the phone number immediately this is a common strategy from identity thieves to obtain personal information. A legitimate number is when they can connect you to the appropriate department.
3. While you are gone, secure your mail as much as possible. Have a trusted neighbor or a friend pick up your mail everyday or inform the post office to stop your mail for a while if you’ll be gone for a while.
4. Weed out your wallet. Often tourist destinations is a haven for pickpockets, so if necessary remove your wallet and take out unneeded credit card and personal data before you leave. Avoid carrying your Social Security number in your wallet and remove credit card that you do not net. Keep a list of contact numbers of Credit Card Company and bank for an easy access if your wallet is stolen or if trouble rises with your trouble
5. Be cautious of generic ATMs. A rampant incidence of ATM-skimming is happening anywhere. Thieves install a card reader to be able to capture your account information and PIN numbers so they can easily steal your account. Experts recommend sticking with bank ATMs at a branch to be safe.
6. Always check your accounts for suspicious activity. This is a great idea all the time, though it is particularly significant when you are out of town and might miss a call from your bank about doubtful activity.
7. Be wary with hotel computers. Don’t access your accounts or personal data on public hotel computers, which might have software that logs keystrokes and records your passwords and account numbers. And be very vigilant when utilizing an unsecured wireless network as well.
8. Avoid leaving personal information lying around your hotel room. Keep your important information and credit cards in the hotel safe. Checkbooks should be place in a safe place at home. Secure your laptop too…
9. In long absences, freeze your credit. A freeze account could prevent potential lenders from accessing your credit report without your approval that can avoid identity thieves from creating a new account in your name.
10. Be cautious after you return home. Identity thieves have a lot of patience and it can take then a long time to jump out. Monitor your credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com for any suspicious activity – you can acquire a free copy of your report every 12 months and you can reel your requests so you can see one copy every four months.
Published on 2013-10-18 12:12:08
