Good Information Articles

Travel Tips to Safeguard Your Identity and Credit

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) May 27, 2008 -- Summer is in the air and many hard working Americans are planning out their vacation weeks for some well deserved rest and relaxation in a warm vacation spot. Many travelers are unaware that their sunny and warm vacation spot can be a hot bed for identity theft and fraud. Identity thieves exist all over the globe, but have been known to target unsuspecting and vulnerable tourists, who are loose with personal information.

Identity theft occurs when someone uses your personal information, like your name, Social Security number, or credit card number, without your permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. The FTC estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year. The Federal Trade Commission estimated that consumer fraud and identity theft cost Americans $1.2 billion in 2007, and the statistics and victims are only increasing.

If you are planning on a summer vacation in the following states, be sure to take every possible precaution to keep your identity and finances safe. These are the top ten states for identity theft per capita basis.

1. Arizona

2. California

3. Nevada

4. Texas

5. Florida

6. New York

7. Georgia

8. Colorado

9. New Mexico

10. Maryland

Source: Consumer Sentinel

The metropolitan areas with the highest per capita rates of reported identity theft are Napa, California; Madera, California; and Greeley, Colorado but many other locations outside of the US are ripe with pickpocketers who can not only swipe your spending cash but also your identity. Do not let identity thieves ruin your vacation and your credit. Travelers can protect themselves and greatly reduce their chances of theft by following the advice below.

Hotel safes- If you plan on brining personal information with you on vacation, a good idea is to use hotel safes. Lock up all valuables in room safes while you are out on the town. Include laptops, passports, receipts, and other documents that may contain personal identifying information that a thief could use. Suitcases can be easily picked or cracked open, a hotel safe is a much safer bet for safeguarding your information, and also hotels will often insure personal documents and objects if they are somehow stolen when locked in a hotel safe.

Pickpockets and travel pouches- Pickpockets are prevalent in nearly every major city and tend to target high traffic areas that attract business and vacation travelers. Many studies indicate that wallets stolen in tourist spots frequently lead to identity theft, which can cost you much more than your spending cash. To guard yourself against pickpocketers, do not carry any unnecessary documents in your wallet. Leave all cards with Social Security Numbers on them at home or in your hotel safe. If necessary, carry your personal documents in a different pocket then your wallet. It goes without saying, never leave your wallet or purse unattended even for a second.

Thieves have been known to target women with loose, dangling purses. Lost out-of-towners or foreigners carrying a lot of cash, and parents distracted by their kids or babies, so stay alert. Leave bills at home- Travelers often take advantage of quiet evenings and downtime in hotels to catch up with bookkeeping and paying bills. Many vacationers and business travelers forget that many people have access to your hotel room. Victims have reported that account information and check information has been stolen from hotel rooms. Leave your bills at home. You are on vacation anyway, save the number crunching for your return.

Using rental computers- If you are using Kinko's computer rentals and other cyber cafe computers while on the vacation, it is essential that you protect your personal/financial/password information. At several Kinko's in the New York City area, a cyber-scammer installed software that recorded the keystroke information gathered from people using the computer rentals and was able to obtain the personal information of 450 people. Avoid performing any financial transactions or accessing personal information on rented computers. If you need to access and use a password protected account from a rental computer you should cut and paste the password from a word document where the password is in the middle of random characters. This can make keystroke recording difficult for scammers.

These are just a few tips we recommend to keep your identity safe when travelling. A vacation should be a relaxing time but do not be lazy in protecting yourself from identity thieves. Remember according to the FTC, 52% of identity theft victims detected fraudulent activity by reviewing their own credit reports. Purchasing a credit report and credit monitoring services from a reputable credit reporting company, is a great way to keep an eye on your credit and quickly identify and address any fraudulent charges.

For more information on identity theft and credit reporting visit us at My Private Credit (https://www.myprivatecredit.com)

###

Other Article Sites

findabook.com  moneycd.info  a-mortgage.info   about-lemon-laws.info  aboutstudentloans.info
all-about-publishing.info  auctions-articles.info  bestcollege-university.com  bestispconnection.com
biblefolder.com  blogger-website.com  books-used.info  brokers-guide.info  buywindows.info  cable-dsl.info
career-miner.com  carpel-tunnel.info  cashinaflash.info  cashloanreviews.info  casinobell.com  chat-house.info
clearmycredit.info  collegeloantips.info  crones.info  depression-articles.info   dirnic.net  dishguides.info
divers-below.com  expodog.info   financewizz.com  fire-insurance.info  getgood.info  handleit.net   it-idea.info
health-supplies.info  hosting-right.com  insidealert.com  insurance-facts.info  jobs-employment.info
justgood.info  lookgold.net   lowcost-travel.info  money-source.info  myhostzone.info  numisblog.com
peoplesearchfinder.info  pr-articles.info  realeas.com   refinancing-guides.info  spyware-remove.info
telelot.info  the-law.info   toppaid.info  travel-deals.info  travelcorrect.com  wedding-guide-site.com
your-blog.info  your-credit.info

MORE ARTICLES:

Family Travel at its Finest - European Villa Rentals Perfect for the Whole Family
Parents can easily find family friendly villa rentals in Europe with Rentvillas.com.

Home Internet Business Opportunities: Reinvent Your Family
Think about your daily job, daily responsibilities, time spent at meetings, driving your kids to this activity and that sporting event, meal planning and preparation, house cleaning, on and on with our grossly busy lives, and what time is left for our family? Do you really think that 9-5 JOB is the answer to all of our hopes and dreams? Do you really think it was our personal goal to spend the majority of our lives at work? When was the last time you saw your son/daughter play in that school volleyball game or run in their cross country meet? Isn?t it time to put your family first?

Families Mourning Children Travel to Nashville for July Compassionate Friends National Conference
The Compassionate Friends self-help support organization for families going through the natural grieving process following the death of a child is hosting its 31st national conference July 18-20 in Nashville, Tennessee. More than 1300 parents, siblings, and grandparents, as well as professionals who provide support, are expected to attend the conference. Highlights include well-known speakers, more than 100 workshops covering most aspects of grief following the death, a pre-conference Professional Outreach Day, and the Walk to Remember Sunday July 20 at 8 a.m. This conference is annually the largest in the United States aimed specifically for those left behind following the death of a child.

Work From Home - Online Resource Center for Home Based Online Jobs and Internet Based Business
Welcome to Work from Home?s ?an online guide and resource website to help you Start and grow your Home based Job and Business. Please note that we are only offering information on Work from Home Jobs and Business opportunities. We are not offering you a job or a business tie-up. Please read through the website as you will find valuable information and resources to start and grow your home based business. www.homebasedonlinejobs.com

Work At Home Internet Home Business Opportunity
There are various opportunities for work at home Internet home business opportunities on the Internet Because of the Internet, there are many opportunities for people to be able to take care of their families and work from home and as well

Internet Marketing Plan For Internet Home Businesses
Every time I try and tell people about the potential of Internet marketing, the reaction I get makes me wonder if I am going 'batty' I am speaking the Queen's English, yet, it is as if I am speaking in a foreign tongue

Family Circus - Make Time For Family With An Internet Business
Sometimes, it seems like you don?t have a full 24 hours in a day. Between work, family, and sleep, there is no time for anything else. You never seem to have five minutes to relax, and on days when work requires overtime, you lose time with your family. In fact, it seems you never spend quality time with your children anymore. One way to get your life back under your control and manage time better is to start your own internet business. With an online business opportunity, you can decrease your work hours overall, as well as become more flexible and available for your family.

SoGoNow.com -- Home of the Best Travel Article Written for the Internet in 2006
SoGoNow.com travel magazine announced that frequent contributor Linda Fasteson has won First Prize for the Best Travel Article Written for the Internet from The North American Travel Journalist Association.

Internet Marketing Business - Your Home Based Internet Marketing Business and the Freedom Attached with it
There are various reasons why there are many individuals who want to start their own home-based Internet marketing business. Some are saying that the amount of money that they are earning from Internet marketing is higher compared to their monthly salary from their regular work. It even comes to a point that they are earning money similar to or more than the salary of their managers and department heads! This is relatively true, since there are Internet marketers who are earning as much as a hundred thousands of dollars within a month.

Home Based Internet Marketing Business - Staying Organized In Your Home Office
When working from home there is nothing more frustrating than not being able to find things when you need them. While most home business entrepreneurs see themselves as never having any time, you have to spend some of your time to organize things. If you can't daily, you should at least try for once a week, you should set aside some time to put things where it should be. Allot of people have a saying that there is a spot for everything and everything must be in its assigned place.

Children's Home Society & Family Services Receives Reaccreditation to Once Again Facilitate Adoptions in Russia
Children's Home Society & Family Services, a Minnesota-based international adoption service provider, announced today it has been re-accredited by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation to facilitate adoptions in that country.

Sales of Children's Travel Bed Soar as Summer Travel Hits
Gentle Air has seen an increase in summer travel sales due to hotels at popular summer attractions charging high prices for rollaway beds and cots.

New Home Based Travel Businesses and Training Available for Retirees and Work-At-Home Parents
Affordable training is now being offered for those wishing to set up their own home based travel businesses. Program offers participants everything they need to get started quickly and affordably in this exciting market.

Internet Home Based Business : Legitimate Work at Home Jobs Opportunities and Advantages
There are many advantages involved in choosing an internet home based business as your primary or secondary source of income Use these benefits to find a legitimate work at home jobs that suits your needs and desires