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Travel Tips for Reducing Chances of Identity Theft
June 30, 2005 - With the summer season now in full
swing, many senior citizens, like other Americans, are planning to spend
some of their free time traveling. If you are one of the 328 million
Americans planning to travel this summer it's important to take steps to
ensure financial privacy and minimize your chances of becoming a victim
of identity theft. The Federal Trade Commission reported that at least
10 million Americans were victims of identity theft in a recent 12 month
period.
Here are seven safety tips to consider before
heading off to your summer vacation spot:
> Pack only the items
needed. Be sure to pack only the identification and
credit cards you will need for your trip. Leave your
checkbook and
cards showing your Social Security number at home.
> Use prepaid or stored-value travel cards.
Using prepaid cards allows
you to plan your travel expenses and put the amount
you plan to use on
the card. If stolen, thieves can't access your
account and the issuers
will be able to replace the money. Keep issuers'
phone numbers in a
safe yet accessible place.
> Take an extra credit card for emergencies. As
an added precaution, take
an extra card with you in case the main card you are
using gets lost or
stolen. Large charges or non-local transactions can
cause your account
to close temporarily for fraud detection until you
verify the charges
are legitimate. Notify issuers there maybe
heightened card activity in
your destination cities before you travel.
> Keep track of your receipts. Never leave
receipts from ATM machines,
credit card purchases or gas stations.
> Remain alert. High traffic areas, such as
airports, train stations and
theme parks are busy venues that attract thieves.
Keep cash and credit
cards in a travel pouch inside your clothes.
> Safeguard rental agreements. Never keep this
information in the car,
especially since it contains personal information
that thieves can use.
> Lock your laptop. If you are planning to
travel with your laptop,
remember to store it in a safe place. This will make
it harder for
thieves to steal or hack into any personal financial
information you
have stored.
Source: The Wisconsin Credit Union League
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