Don't let identity thieves ruin your trip

By Jennifer Mulrean

When Claudia closed the door to her Virginia hotel room, she had no idea she'd just left herself wide open to identity theft and years of ensuing turmoil. Inside, on the hotel bed, was a completed credit card application, ready for anyone to find.

Unfortunately for Claudia, who asked that her last name not be used, an unscrupulous hotel worker found the application and used the information it contained to wreak havoc on her life.

"She got ahold of it and pretty much started dismantling my life immediately," Claudia says.

The application contained Claudia's Social Security number, her date of birth and her mother's maiden name -- all that was needed to gain access to her private information. Not only did the hotel worker acquire and run up the credit card for which she'd found the completed application, she also reopened old accounts dating to the 1980s. And she changed key elements of Claudia's identity and credit records, including her birth date and contact information.

All told, the credit abuse totaled a couple thousand dollars, and that doesn't include the lost income and health problems Claudia says she endured while dedicating herself to straightening out the mess. "It's very violating," she says. "My whole family has been affected by this."

It's hard enough to protect your identity from computer hacking and phishing attacks on your home turf. When traveling, it's even more difficult to keep sensitive financial information locked away, and it isn't as easy to log on to credit and bank accounts to monitor them for suspicious activity.

But if you're not careful, you may unwittingly expose yourself to unnecessary risks. Here are the best ways to limit the chances you'll be targeted.

Before you leave home

Kevin Coffey, founder of consulting company Corporate Travel Safety and a detective with one of the largest police departments in the country, says the vigilance should begin before you set foot outside your home.

He recommends you start with the obvious things, such as locking all windows and doors, leaving radios and lights on, and asking a friend or neighbor to help make your house look lived in while you're away. This can include bringing in your trash cans off the street and even driving up your driveway to leave tire marks should your home get snow while you're away.

Other tips:

• Suspend mail delivery. This is done easily enough through your local post office, in person or online. But Coffey doesn't recommend you suspend delivery of your newspaper or any other services, because entry-level employees would then be alerted to the fact that you're out of town. Instead, he'd ask one of his friends to retrieve the newspaper each day -- or cancel it entirely.

• Don't leave bill payments in your mailbox. Bills usually contain checks and credit card information, and thieves know this, Coffey says. The only place he puts his bills is directly in a secure mailbox.

• Lock up sensitive documents, especially if anyone is accessing your home while you're gone. Should someone abuse your trust or break into your home to steal from you, you may not know it until unauthorized charges start showing up on your accounts. "A lot of thieves are getting smart today, where they have not been stealing the actual card, because they know if they steal it, accounts get shut down," Coffey says. Instead, they'll take just the information they need to make purchases over the phone or online, or open new accounts in your name.

• Make copies of your passport, medical cards and the credit cards you're taking on a trip. But don't make exact copies. Instead, Coffey and Jay Foley, co-executive director of the Identity Theft Resource Center, say you should cut out the last four digits of your credit card numbers and the last four digits of your Social Security number if it's on your medical card. Also, make sure you copy the back of your credit cards so you have the needed telephone numbers to cancel lost or stolen cards.

• Prepay for cars, hotel rooms, etc. "If you can reduce the amount of transactions when you're on the road, you'll be better off," Coffey says.

Continued: Bring only what you need

 1 | 2 | next >