ID Theft – Five Tips for Vacation Protection

Holiday travel brings various levels of challenge and stress. Don’t let identity theft risk add to your anxiety.

Here are five tips to help you to avoid becoming a victim while on vacation:

1. Stop your mail and newspaper. Avoid letting un-invited credit invitations sit in your mail box. You can stop your mail by phone or online at usps.com. Also, ask a trusted neighbor to watch for package & parcel deliveries and to hang on to them until you return. If you receive a daily newspaper, put your subscription on hold. A pile of un-retrieved newspapers in your driveway is a “Welcome” sign to thieves.

2. Don’t advertise that you’re on vacation. Make sure if you are going to post vacation updates on your e-mail, on social networking websites, or on your voice mail greeting, that you post generically, no specifics. Put a few lights on timers so that your home doesn’t look unoccupied for the entire time you’re gone. Replace the front porch light bulb.

3. Enroll in a protection product that safeguards your most valuable asset, your identity. You may think you have all your bases covered, but it can be harder than you think, especially once you need to recover from a theft. One way to make sure you’re protected is by using a product that monitors if you are vulnerable to having your identity stolen. A number of quality service providers offer alerts via text or email of potentially suspicious activity as well as resolution assistance to help you cut through the red tape should you need it.

4. Leave your checkbook & debit card at home. If you don’t want to use cash or credit cards, purchase traveler’s checks instead of bringing your checkbook or debit card. A stolen checkbook has your bank account number and routing number on the checks – valuable tools a thief can use to steal your identity or clean out your bank account. Traveler’s checks require a signature when you purchase them, and then another when you use them at a store or restaurant on your travels. And, usually a photo ID is required when you use them. A thief that steals them will find them much harder to use. A debit card is essentially an immediate cash transaction.

5. Give your credit card company a heads up. This is especially important if you are traveling internationally, because any activity that happens domestically will raise a red flag. If you don’t let them know, they may become concerned when they see overseas transactions and freeze your card, potentially ruining your holiday.

A good measure of common sense and basic precaution can go a long way to protect you and your family. Taking some of these simple steps can give you the peace of mind you deserve during your hard-earned vacation. Travel safely (and securely)!

John Sileo is an award-winning author and speaks worldwide on the dark art of deception (identity theft, social media privacy, data breach) and it’s polar opposite, the powerful use of trust to achieve success. He is CEO of The Sileo Group, which advises teams on how to multiply results and increase positive impact by building a culture of deep trust. His satisfied clients include the Department of Defense, Pfizer, the FDIC, Homeland Security, Experian UK and Blue Cross. Contact him on 800.258.8076, follow him on Facebook and Twitter, or view his work on YouTube.

Posted by Identity Theft Speaker John Sileo in Cyber Data Security, Fraud Detection & Prevention, Identity Theft Prevention and tagged data security, Expert, Fraud, Identity, John Sileo, Mobile, Mobile Security, Office, safety, Security, Sileo, Theft, travel, Vacation.