Tips for a scam free holiday

In all the excitement of planning your holiday and making sure everything goes smoothly, it’s easy to overlook your online safety. While there’s no fail-safe way to protect yourself from scams, following these hints and tips can help guarantee you remember your time overseas for all the right reasons.

Part One: Before you leave

Inform us when you’re travelling

With instances of online fraud on the rise, financial institutions are becoming much more vigilant when it comes to minimising your – and their – losses. Informing us of your travel will give us the chance to watch over your account while you’re overseas. But even if we catch any fraudulent transactions immediately, it could still take several days to recover stolen money, without any way for you to pay for travel, food or everyday incidentals during that time.

One strategy to protect against this is to add extra protection to your accounts, setting strict daily withdrawal limits to minimise the damage a potential scammer can do. Another possible solution would be to open a second account specifically for your holiday, only keeping smaller amounts of cash in it at any one time, thereby minimising potential losses and keeping your primary account safe.

Store a digital copy of your important documents

If your passport or other forms of identification are stolen, having a digital copy of your important travel documents will help to prove who you are and make the process of ordering replacement documents much easier.

Use a PIN or password to protect your devices

Most people lock their phones and other devices when not in use, but even if you’re a trusting soul you should still lock your phone while overseas. If your device is stolen, a screen lock can deny the perpetrator access to your phone, keeping your sensitive information safe and stopping them from turning off the “locate my phone” function. Being able to easily locate a lost or stolen device can give you immediate peace of mind and potentially save you thousands of dollars to replace.

Only deal with creditable companies

No matter how good a deal seems, never trust a vendor you don’t know, and – even then – make sure you are using their official website. Before sending any money, check the URL of the site you’re using by opening a second tab to compare the company’s homepage to the link you’re using; any differences – characters, numbers, or symbols – could mean that it’s a fake. And never click on any pop-up banners, no matter how amazing the offer is!

Part Two: While you’re overseas

Avoid using social media to live-post your location

While it’s fun showing everyone back home all the amazing places you’ve been visiting, criminals sometimes use geo-mapping to locate potential targets in the area. Being in an unfamiliar part of the world – often without a support network – international travellers are vulnerable enough without painting a target on their (virtual) back.

Avoid unsecured Wi-Fi networks

We all love free Wi-Fi, but be aware – scammers have been known to set up free, unencrypted networks to trap unsuspecting travellers. Once connected, the scammers will have access to your passwords, account numbers and other personal information, including emails and chat messages. Instead of connecting to an open Wi-Fi networks, use your phone’s hotspot, or at least minimise your sensitive activity such as banking or personal emails.

Review your financial transactions regularly

Even if your bank is attentive when protecting your account, it is still smart to monitor your transactions regularly; better than anyone else, you know where you’ve been and what payments you’ve authorised. And with the time difference between home and the country you happen to be visiting, a few hours might make the difference between only losing a few dollars and thousands.

Use Smartraveller and other online travel resources

The Smartraveller website is full of hints and tips on how to avoid scams while you’re overseas, as well as what to do if the worst happens.