Picture this – you’re on a sightseeing tour and you notice your bag with all of your important documents and credits cards is missing. You call your credit card company to let them know and they inform you that you recently made several huge purchases that you don’t recognize. Identity theft is a scary thought. Someone takes your personal information or a credit card and runs off to make purchases or commit some sort of undesired action while assuming your identity. And of course, you’re left holding the bag, so to speak, for whatever costs are incurred and whatever repairs need to be made to your credit and anything else. Here are some ways to avoid having to deal with the prospect of identity theft the next time you take a sightseeing tour:
• Hotels are a favorite target of hackers as they’ll have the personal information and credit card information of potentially thousands of paying customers. Check your online statements after checking out and review them for potential unauthorized charges.
• Avoid publicizing your business plans on social networking sites. This information is not secure and can be seen by unauthorized viewers.
• Don’t take items that contain very sensitive information, such as a social security card. Should a pickpocket get his or her hands on this information, they could cause a lot of damage to your pocketbook and more.
• Only take as many credit cards as you think you’ll need. Most of us limit our spending while on vacation, so only take one or two credit cards when you go on your package tour.
• Find a secure connection and check your bank and credit cards at least once while you’re on one of our sightseeing tours.
• Take advantage of the hotel safes that are available at most hotels. Whether you request your room be cleaned while you’re out on a Niagara Falls tour or some other tour, your hotel room can be susceptible to others entering. Make sure to keep all of your sensitive documents safely secured inside of the safe in your hotel room.
• Wifi hotspots are often unsecured and unencrypted. If you must use one, use a firewall to protect your data and limit doing anything you don’t want viewed in one of these spots.
Taking a few precautions can go a long way towards saving you a lot of trouble when you’re on your next package tour. Protect your information and your well-being the next time you take a vacation with Tours4Fun!