How Do I Protect My ID When Traveling? Follow These 5 Tips!
There’s always so much to do when preparing for and while on vacation. Arranging transportation, booking hotels, creating an itinerary of activities, getting the whole family packed, gathering all your…
There’s always so much to do when preparing for and while on vacation. Arranging transportation, booking hotels, creating an itinerary of activities, getting the whole family packed, gathering all your device chargers, etc. – it’s exhausting! In addition to travel plans and packing, though, there are some other keys items you might want to add to your “to do” list. This is a collection of a a few of the things I do to protect my ID while traveling and that of my family. Hopefully this will help you on your next vacay too.
This post was brought to you by LifeLock. All opinions are my own.
Sharing 5 Travel Tips to Protect My ID
- Stop mail. This is super easy and lessens the chances of your personal information getting into the wrong hands. If you rely on a friend to get your mail, it could be sitting in your mailbox for hours or even days until they pick it up, just waiting to be stolen. Just go to https://holdmail.usps.com/holdmail/ to put a hold on your mail.
- Clean out your wallet. Leave extra credit cards you don’t need at home so, in the sad situation that your stuff gets stolen, you only have a few accounts to worry about and take care of.
- Don’t tell the world you’re traveling. This is just common sense these days. Saying, “I’m leaving for vacation for X number of days” is like saying, “Feel free to rob us anytime while we’re gone.”
- Use the hotel safe. While we hope all hotel staff will be 100% trustworthy, it’s better to be “safe” than sorry and use the in-room safe. Don’t leave money, documents, etc. just loose in your room.
- Act fast. If you lose any of your important documents or credit cards, report it immediately. The quicker you do this, the less damage will be done. I have LifeLock Ultimate keeping an eye on my accounts so I can take action as soon as a credit or identity threat is detected. You can also go to the LifeLock site and use the promotion code “LifeLockSafety” to save 10% off their services to add to your anxiety-free vacation.
Getting Some Help While You’re Away
These points were inspired by a post on the LifeLock site but are things my family and I have always done when it comes to traveling. Taking the family out for summer vacation should be something to be look forward to and enjoy. The last thing you need is to find out your identity or that of your kids has been compromised and that you need to abruptly go into “troubleshoot” mode in getting things fixed. So why not follow these tips and enlist the help of LifeLock to help protect you while you’re gone.
Also, to help you better understand the threats involved with identity theft and know how to ramp up that protection, LifeLock has a new book, Stolen Identity: What Anyone with a Name, Birthdate and Social Security Number Needs to Know Now. What is it about? Here’s official summary:
Identity theft is one of the most widespread and fast-evolving crimes, but many people don’t realize that it goes far beyond having a credit card number stolen. It can jeopardize your healthcare, block you from receiving the tax refund you’re due, interfere with a job or loan, and even run up debt for your children or elderly parents. Learn more about the alarming ways identity in which thieves operate today and what you can do to reduce your chances of having your identity stolen.
You can purchase Stolen Identity: What Anyone with a Name, Birthdate and Social Security Number Needs to Know Now on Amazon. Or, you can enter win one right here!
