• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Wealth Pilgrim

No Money Worries. No Matter What.

Neal Frankle featured in
  • Home
  • Life Insurance
  • Investing
    • Build Strong Investment Building Blocks To Avoid Going Broke In Retirement
    • Systematic Mutual Fund and ETF Investing
    • Stock Market Investing Guide
    • Choosing the Right Investment Brokerage Guide
    • How Bonds Work Guide
    • How Banks Really Work Guide
    • Annuities – What You Need To Know Before You Invest
    • A Beginners Guide To Buying Individual Stocks
    • Create A Pool Of Great Mutual Funds and ETFs To Pick From To Secure Your Retirement
    • ETF and Index Fund Investment Guide
  • Earn More
  • Banking
  • Retirement Planning
    • Retirement Guide
  • Reviews
    • Upgrade Personal Loans Review
    • Lending Club Review
    • Prosper Review
    • Ally Invest TradeKing Review
    • CIT Bank Review
    • LegalZoom Review
    • Lexington Law Review
    • Airbnb Host Review
    • Should You Drive For Uber?
  • Tax
  • Courses
    • Raise Your Credit Score So You Can Buy a House – Free Video Course

How to Avoid Identity Theft while Traveling

by Neal Frankle, CFP ®, The article represents the author's opinion. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure for more info.

You can do everything possible to stay safe on the internet and still be at risk of identity theft. If you travel, you have to be extra careful about identity theft.

I often travel to visit my daughter who lives overseas. Her apartment has become like a second home to us. But it seems like every time I go, I get hacked and I have to replace my credit cards. As a result, I had to learn how to avoid identity theft while I travel.

Unfortunately, the problems don’t stop with credit card fraud. According to a recent article in the Investor’s Business Daily, people who use passports are especially at risk.

Since 2006, the government has issued passports with RFID chips embedded inside. These chips have lots of personal information about you, and it’s easy for scoundrels to pick this information up. This is to say nothing of getting your cell phone or laptop hacked when using Wi-Fi in an internet bar. These networks are not secure. So what is a smart traveler to do?

I don’t know what the smart travelers are doing, but I can tell you some of the steps I’m taking:

Disposable Credit Cards

First, I’ll take a disposable credit card with me next time I travel. I’m talking about the cards you load up with cash and can’t use beyond the amount you’ve added. While I never pay for charges that occur fraudulently on my credit cards, it’s a royal pain to have to get a new card and set my vendors up all over again.

Travel Tablet or Laptop

Next, I’ll keep traveling with my Netbook rather than my laptop. I never put data on the Netbook. It’s small, keeps a charge forever and can do anything the laptop can. If you travel often or have a job that keeps you overseas, invest in another laptop and keep it clean. Don’t load any data on it. This way, it’s safe for you to travel with. The article I read also suggests having a full-system encryption on any device (cell phone or laptop).

Security Software

I never knew that phones needed anti-virus and anti-hacking software, but they do. As it happens, when I was having coffee with my buddy Eyal in Tel Aviv, I learned about it. Eyal works for a company that creates anti-virus and security software for cell phones, and we installed it right there between my first and second latte. Chances are high that you can download some pretty good software for free for your cell phone too. Just take a look at some of the options.

The author of the IBD article suggested a few other precautions:

1. Take the batteries out of your cell phone and laptop when you aren’t using them to prevent being tracked.
2. Disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to prevent hackers from taking over your data.
3. To prevent thieves from reading your credit card and passport with RFID cards, you can get a special wallet. It’s referred to as a “Faraday pouch.” Think of it as Kryptonite that even Superman couldn’t see through.
4. Don’t stay plugged into the internet if you aren’t using it.
5. Never let your credit cards, laptop or passport out of your sight.
6. Avoid public internet sites such as those available at cafes, airports and libraries.

The last suggestion is a bit tough. When I travel, I love to just sit in cafes and check e-mail and make calls to my office. I figure that since my Netbook doesn’t have any sensitive data on it, I’m safe to do that.

How do you keep yourself safe when you travel?

 

Tweet
Pin3
Share

Reader Interactions

User Generated Content (UGC) Disclosure: Please note that the opinions of the commenters are not necessarily the opinions of this site.

Comments

  1. Peter W says

    November 26, 2011 at 9:22 AM

    Unfortunately, credit card theft is inevitable these days and best to plan for it. I use two credit cards; one for all recurring payments and the other for my day-to-day charges. The credit card for recurring charges never leaves my home and is never used for anything else. The second card is in my wallet and used elsewhere and is the more likely theft candidate. If it is stolen and the needs to be replaced, I do not have to change all of my recurring payments.

    Reply
    • Neal Frankle says

      November 26, 2011 at 8:07 PM

      That is a fantastic idea! Nice thinking sir!

      Reply
  2. Joe Jamison says

    October 12, 2011 at 11:50 AM

    You said “When I travel, I love to just sit in cafes and check email and make calls to my office. I figure that since my Netbook doesn’t have any sensitive data on it, I’m safe to do that.”

    Actually, if you’re using wireless for your netbook connection, unless you are using some kind of encryption (such as a VPN) it is trivial for an attacker to eavesdrop on your session. Even if you aren’t doing anything particularly sensitive at that time, you risk exposing your login credentials that an attacker could use at a later date to access your email account.

    Reply
    • Neal Frankle says

      October 12, 2011 at 12:13 PM

      Thanks. I have learned that working wireless at “internet cafe’s” is a dangerous proposition. Thankfully, I haven’t learned this the hard way.

      Reply
  3. krantcents says

    May 11, 2011 at 10:26 AM

    Although I frequently travel overseas I have never had a problem there. I did have a problem about 20 years ago with my American Express card at a hotel in New Jersey. I suspect someone at the hotel stole the number. Am Ex was top of it super fast. I have had more problems with fraud in the U.S.

    Reply
    • Neal Frankle says

      May 11, 2011 at 11:08 AM

      Good point! I figure it has a lot to do with what country you are in at the time.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Are You Human? * Time limit is exhausted. Please reload CAPTCHA.

Primary Sidebar

Who is Neal Frankle

Neal Frankle

I'm a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ Professional with more than 25 years of experience. I feel very blessed and hope to share my personal financial experience and professional wisdom with readers of WealthPilgrim.
Read More »

Stay Connected

Facebook Twitter YouTube RSS
We are on YouTube
Retirement financial education for people age 55+ seeking to retire well and for those retired seeking to enjoy a better retirement.  We discuss retirement planning, retirement investments, taxes in retirement, retirement spending, IRA and 401k distributions and we will personally answer questions that you pose in the video comments.

While so much financial information is about preparing for retirement, what about managing your finances in your retirement years? That's exactly what we cover at Retirement Crusaders.

Neal Frankle is a retired registered investment adviser. Larry Klein is a retired financial advisor and retired CPA. They have 70 years of financial advising experience to share so that you have your best retirement years.

Retirement financial education for people age 55+ seeking to retire well and for those retired seeking to enjoy a better retirement. We discuss retirement planning, retirement investments, taxes in retirement, retirement spending, IRA and 401k distributions and we will personally answer questions that you pose in the video comments.

While so much financial information is about preparing for retirement, what about managing your finances in your retirement years? That's exactly what we cover at Retirement Crusaders.

Neal Frankle is a retired registered investment adviser. Larry Klein is a retired financial advisor and retired CPA. They have 70 years of financial advising experience to share so that you have your best retirement years.

YouTube Video UCoU0buhwVplzXrsyf342nOg

Retirement Crusaders

June 10, 2022 1:19 PM

Subscribe
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error 403: Requests from referer are blocked..

Domain code: global
Reason code: forbidden

More Categories

Career Development
College Funding
Credit Cards
Credit Score Fixes
Money and Marriage
Debt Relief
Estate Protection
Property Investment Loans
Small Business Strategies
Spend Less Money
Retirement financial education for people age 55+ seeking to retire well and for those retired seeking to enjoy a better retirement.  We discuss retirement planning, retirement investments, taxes in retirement, retirement spending, IRA and 401k distributions and we will personally answer questions that you pose in the video comments.

While so much financial information is about preparing for retirement, what about managing your finances in your retirement years? That's exactly what we cover at Retirement Crusaders.

Neal Frankle is a retired registered investment adviser. Larry Klein is a retired financial advisor and retired CPA. They have 70 years of financial advising experience to share so that you have your best retirement years.

Retirement financial education for people age 55+ seeking to retire well and for those retired seeking to enjoy a better retirement. We discuss retirement planning, retirement investments, taxes in retirement, retirement spending, IRA and 401k distributions and we will personally answer questions that you pose in the video comments.

While so much financial information is about preparing for retirement, what about managing your finances in your retirement years? That's exactly what we cover at Retirement Crusaders.

Neal Frankle is a retired registered investment adviser. Larry Klein is a retired financial advisor and retired CPA. They have 70 years of financial advising experience to share so that you have your best retirement years.

YouTube Video UCoU0buhwVplzXrsyf342nOg

Retirement Crusaders

June 10, 2022 1:19 PM

Subscribe
This error message is only visible to WordPress admins

Error 403: Requests from referer are blocked..

Domain code: global
Reason code: forbidden

Disclaimer

Wealth Pilgrim is not responsible for and does not endorse any advertising, products or resource available from advertisements on this website. Wealth Pilgrim receives compensation from Google for advertising space on this website, but does not control the advertising selection or content. Please do the appropriate research before participating in any third party offers. The information contained in WealthPilgrim.com is for general information or entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional financial advice. Please contact an independent financial professional for advice regarding your specific situation. Wealth Pilgrim does not provide investment advisory services and is not a registered investment adviser. Neal may provide advisory services through Wealth Resources Group, a registered investment adviser. Wealth Pilgrim and Wealth Resources Group are affiliated companies. In accordance with FTC guidelines, we state that we have a financial relationship with some of the companies mentioned in this website. This may include receiving payments,access to free products and services for product and service reviews and giveaways. Any references to third party products, rates, or websites are subject to change without notice. We do our best to maintain current information, but due to the rapidly changing environment, some information may have changed since it was published. Please do the appropriate research before participating in any third party offers.


About · Contact · Disclaimer & Privacy policy

Copyright © Wealth Pilgrim 2023 All Rights Reserved