Although tips on protecting personal safety abound and I plan to discuss this later, the financial threats while traveling are more neglected. Use these tips to help protect yourself from scams, hacks, card skimming, and more!
1. Get an RFID-Blocking Wallet
My own RFID wallet!
Adding your credit cards and IDs to an RFID-blocking wallet to protect it from passing skimmers! It prevents them from receiving a signal from your documents. Bonus safety tip: also bring your empty regular wallet along to throw as a decoy if threatened!
2. For Transit Hubs and Other High-Risk Areas, Use a Prepaid Debit Card
Unfortunately, lurking strangers aren’t the only ones looking to skim your information – it can even happen in airport shops! I know someone who had her card information skimmed and hacked from an airport gift shop. For airports, train stations, and anywhere you don’t 100% trust the store or card security, I highly recommend traveling with a prepaid debit card with a small amount on it. Some of them, like the Visa TravelMoney Card, do work internationally. That way if your card does get compromised, nothing beyond the small amount on that card will be at risk.
3. Monitor Charges and Know Your Chargeback Process
Keep a close eye on your credit card charges especially while traveling. If you see something that isn’t right, notify your bank immediately, lock your card (assuming you have another source of funds), and initiate a credit card dispute aka chargeback. A chargeback can be used in a variety of travel scenarios for both credit and debit cards and all fraudulent charges are eligible. The exact process varies by bank, but you’ll start by getting a provisional credit for the amount disputed. Once the dispute is found in your favor, that credit will be made permanent. Make sure to dispute the charges within 60 days.
4. Take Caution Using ATMs
This advice also applies more to transit hubs and to crowded tourist areas. Be sure to monitor your surroundings before and while using an ATM. For an airport ATM for example, make sure others keep at least 6 feet away from you (financial distancing!), quickly put away your cash rather than openly count it, and ensure your transaction is fully completed and back to the original screen before you leave. The safest ATMs to use are the ones located inside banks. Bonus tip: Avoid getting ripped off by the ATM fees as well! In many European airports for example, many of the airport ATMs at least through customs are the Travelex ones, which have a terrible exchange rate – sometimes as bad as exchanging your money in person! Wait until after you clear customs to withdraw cash, using ATMs associated with banks to avoid the rip-off.
5. Beef Up Your Cybersecurity
Finally, I’ll reiterate a few of the most important cybersecurity precautions. First, avoid using public wifi, especially in airports and train stations! Bring or buy an international prepaid SIM card to avoid having to rely on hotspots. Also make sure you have antivirus software installed also on your mobile device – this comes free with many internet providers. Finally, ensure you have 2-factor authentication enabled on all your major accounts (bank, social media, email, etc.). However, a note of caution with this to also ensure you will have access to both forms of authentication while traveling. Otherwise, Google and Facebook for example have Authenticator apps you can use to obtain codes you can use to securely login while traveling.
Bonus Tip: If you can, avoid traveling with your debit card or any card linked with a significant amount! Especially if linked to a large amount of your savings, having a debit card get compromised would be devastating in comparison with a credit card (plus, many have foreign transaction fees anyway). The most ideal combination would be to travel with a credit card with no foreign transaction fees and the prepaid card with a limited amount.
I hope these tips are helpful to you and I wish you safe and wonderful travels!
