Fact Sheet 122
IDENTITY THEFT TRAVEL TIPS
For the Business or Vacation Traveler
Whether you travel for business or pleasure, a traveler must be on the alert for opportunities that an identity thief may try to take advantage of in any given situation.
Unfortunately you cannot trust anyone you meet (housekeeping staff, bellmen, security guards, front desk clerks, etc) with your personal information.
The following items have been contributed by our ITRC staff, many of whom travel for business or pleasure:
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Checks - Leave checkbooks and checks at home, in a locked safe. Checking account takeover is one of the hardest types of financial fraud to clear up. Too many people leave checkbooks in suitcases or use them for purchases in stores where they don’t know the clerks. ITRC recommends that you use cash, traveler’s checks or credit cards for purchases.
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ATM/Debit cards/Credit Cards - Many people believe that an ATM card, which is also a debit and credit card, is perfectly safe because you need a PIN to use it. That is only true at an ATM machine. Unfortunately, ATM scams are very common and fake ATM machines have been placed in high traffic tourist areas. They contain a camera that records you typing in your PIN number. The fake machine also has a computer storage device that reads the back of your ATM card. There have also been cases of legitimate cash dispensing ATM machines that also “skim” your information for illegal use. It is best to use ATM equipment located in banks or other well known facilities.
The second problem is that a PIN may not be necessary when the card is used as a debit or credit card. It actually acts as a check and immediately withdraws money from your account. You don’t find out about the problem until your get your bank statement. A lost ATM/Debit/Credit card can be quite costly. While the money should be replaced once the card is reported as lost (if within the contractual time period), it takes time for the money to be replaced.
ITRC recommends that you change your card to be an ATM card ONLY, and get a separate credit card. Credit cards are protected by federal law as to the amount of money that you are responsible for if lost or stolen, and most companies now extend a zero liability policy to customers. You should be able to control this problem easily during the first billing cycle after the card is lost or should it be skimmed or copied. In fact, this is the easiest of all financial crimes to deal with.
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Leave bills at home - Business travelers often take advantage of quiet evenings in hotels to catch up with bookkeeping and paying bills. Unfortunately many people have access to your room while you are at meetings and victims have reported that account information and check information has been stolen this way.
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Hotel Safes - ITRC highly recommends that you lock up all valuables in room safes or hotel safes while you are out of your room. That includes laptops, PDA’s, jewelry, passports, and other documents that contain personal identifying information or that would be of interest to a thief. A suitcase is not a secure way to lock up information. You might return to your room to find the suitcase has been picked open or stolen.
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Pickpockets, fanny packs and travel pouches - Pickpockets can be found in most major cities and tend to focus on high traffic areas that attract business or vacation travelers. Some studies indicate that wallets stolen in tourist spots frequently lead to identity theft. These professionals aren’t interested in cash. They want your SSN, checks and driver’s license.
Thieves depend on the fact that you are not paying attention to anything but what you are doing. In fact, they may cause distractions (as a team) – using animals, flower vendors, children, or even asking for directions. Vacation travelers should use fanny packs (preferably ones that open with a Velcro fastener and not a zipper) or travel pouches that are worn inside your shirt to carry important documents.
Business travelers should be aware that pickpockets are also looking for laptops and PDA’s that are temporarily out of your control- at airports, in lobbies and in dining areas. You’d be surprised at how many rushed business travelers leave the security area having forgotten these items. Remember, out of sight means out of control. A good pickpocket can remove a wallet from a tight pair of jeans without you being aware of the theft, especially the back pocket. They may travel in pairs and watch where you put it long before you know you are even a target.
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Wallets - Don’t take anything in your wallet that is not absolutely necessary. Leave all cards with Social Security Numbers on them at home. If necessary, make a photocopy of a health card, cut off the last 4 numbers of the Social Security Number from the photocopy and carry that with you. Make sure that you have an emergency phone number (contact person) for emergency medical personnel to use. That person would have the last 4 numbers of your Social Security Number plus any pertinent medical history including prescriptions that you take. It goes without saying- never leave your wallet unattended even for a second.
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Shoulder surfers - Besides pickpockets, identity thieves take advantage of people via shoulder surfing. “Shoulder Surfing” used to only apply to those who looked “over your shoulder” to see information. With the common use of cell phones, we forget that we are in a public venue and may talk about things that a thief can use. In other words - if you wouldn’t want to see it on a billboard, don’t talk about it on a cell phone in public. That includes personal information as well as company proprietary information.
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Back-up material - carry photocopies of all travel documents including plane tickets, hotel reservations and passports. Keep these in a separate location from the originals.
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Mail - Put your mail on “postal hold” stating that for a period of time you wish to have your mail held at the post office. We prefer that term rather than “vacation hold” so that postal clerks will not know that you will be gone. Make arrangements so that mail may only be picked up by you, and that your driver’s license or ID card (with photo and current address) must be shown to receive the mail.
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Newspapers - Nothing says “we’re out of town” more than a pile of newspapers. Don’t forget to stop delivery until you return. Also stop any other automatic deliveries, such as bottled water.
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Contact your local Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol (RSVP), if one is available, to see if they do courtesy house checks. If so, coordinate with them to do a courtesy drive by while you are gone.
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Neighbors, relatives and house-sitters- While we would like to trust everyone, unfortunately statistics show that 9 -14% of all identity theft victims who find out who the imposter is, discovers that it is someone they knew. If you have someone that is going to check the house and has a key to your house, then lock up any documents with account numbers or Social Security Numbers. You wouldn’t leave an expensive diamond ring or lots of cash out; follow those same guidelines when it comes to information an identity thief can use.
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Public restrooms - Ladies, do not hang your purse from a hook on the door. It is too easy for someone to reach over the top of the door and take it before you have time to react. The best place to store your purse while in the restroom is beside you or hung around your body.
The bottom line- if you suspect that a scam may be in progress, trust your intuition.
It probably is.
Other Resources:
We recommend that you check out www.BobArno.com/BATA.
Bob is a world-renowned expert on pickpockets and does training classes for law enforcement around the world, especially in tourist areas and for special events such as Super Bowls and Olympics.
His newest book,
Travel Advisory!, goes into detail about how to avoid theft, cons and street scams while traveling.
It is excellent for anyone who travels a lot, especially in crowds or in
Check List
Before you Leave:
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Go through your wallet, purse and/or briefcase and remove any of the following items prior to travel:
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Social Security card
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Check book & deposit slips
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Birth certificate
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Credit card receipts
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Library card
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Video rental card
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Bills
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Extra Credit Cards
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Leave your debit card at home. Make credit cards, not ATM cards, your card of choice.
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Minimize number of credit cards in wallet. No more than two (2).
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Place all the removed items above into a locked safe.
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Pay bills before you go out of town.
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Place mail on “postal hold” with the Post Office. Arrange so mail may only be picked up by you and request that identification must be shown to receive held mail.
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Stop delivery of newspapers or any other items you may normally have delivered (water, automatically scheduled deliveries of products, etc).
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Make copies of your itinerary, passport data page, visas and driver’s license to leave with designated emergency contact.
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Notify a neighbor to watch your house. Let them know you are not moving.
During Your Travel
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Lock up all your valuables in room safes or hotel safe while you are out of the room. (This includes jewelry, laptops, passports and any other important documents)
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This fact sheet should not be used in lieu of legal advice. Any requests to reproduce this material, other than by individual victims or their
own use, should be directed to ITRC.
Fact Sheet 122, Copyright February 2008, Identity Theft Resource Center ®,
Created by the ITRC staff
This project was supported by Grant No. 2007-VF-GX-K038 awarded by the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
Points of view in this document are those of the ITRC and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.