As summer quickly approaches, keep Benjamin Franklin’s words of wisdom in mind: “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Here are some tips provided by the Council on Aging to keep you, your family and identity safe while enjoying your vacation.
- Notify your bank. Traveling out of state or overseas while using your bankcard could cause a fraud alert to appear and suspend your account. A quick phone call can prevent this hassle.
- Be cautious when searching for rental properties on websites like Craigslist. A legitimate rental will not ask for payment via wire transfer.
- Avoid stand-alone ATMS’s. Scammers like these because they are able to attach a credit card skimmer with less risk of detection.
- Stay on guard even in your hotel. If you receive a phone call from the “front desk” asking you to confirm your payment method, hang up. It’s a scam. If the hotel really has an issue, they will ask you to come to the front desk.
- Stay alert. Identity thieves’ techniques evolve. Especially in the technological age but some will always rely on good old-fashioned pickpocketing.
- Safeguard your wallet, purse and phones.
- Save the social media posts. Wait until you are home to share the photos of your family vacation. You don’t want to announce when your home will be empty.
- Make sure you place a hold on newspaper and mail deliveries. A full mailbox or several newspapers in your driveway are sure signs no one is home.
- Only take what you will need. Leave the extra credit/bank cards at home. Do you really need your social security card with you? Birth certificate? If not, leave it at home.
- Take photocopies or a picture of all the information in your wallet. That includes front and back photos of your credit/bank cards, I.D., passport, etc. Keep the copies in a safe place, not your wallet or purse.
- Be wary of free Wi-Fi. Free means open airwaves and everything you do is transmitted over an unsecured connection and makes you vulnerable. Some Wi-Fi connections are fake and are set up by hackers just to steal your information. Always double check with the location to see if it is official.
- Don’t leave expensive or important belongings in the hotel room. Use the safe if one is provided in the room. If not, ask the front desk for another alternative.
- Many credit/bank cards are now equipped with RFID (radio frequency identification) chips, which makes stealing your information easier for high-tech scammers. Consider using a RFID blocking wallet, purse or case.
- Most importantly, if anything does happen, act fast. Contact the bank or credit card company as well as the credit reporting bureaus. If your ID is stolen, file a police report immediately. This is necessary for creating a paper trail as well as a timeframe for the theft. If traveling overseas and your passport is lost or stolen, contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate, they can help you with a replacement. You should also call the local police and file a report.
The Council on Aging of Middle Tennessee strives to ensure that the community values, honors and supports older adults and caregivers by addressing unmet needs through information, advocacy and education and by being a catalyst for comprehensive solutions.
