Tips to Help Safeguard Your Identity

Travel

• Leave your checkbook at home. In addition to fraudulently using your checks, an identity thief could order new checks and have them mailed to his address.
• Clean out your wallet before you travel. Take only the cards and ID you need for your trip. The less you have with you, the less you'll have to report and replace if your wallet is lost or stolen.
• Protect your passport at all times. Do not leave it unattended in your baggage, car, hotel room, or elsewhere. Keep it on your person or locked in your hotel safe.
• Make two photocopies of your passport, airline tickets, and the contents of your wallet before you travel. Leave one copy in a secure place at home and carry the other with you, apart from your credit cards and ID.
• Carry with you (but not in your wallet) the customer service telephone numbers for your airline, bank, and credit cards. Report missing cards or tickets immediately.
• Avoid traveling with your social security number. If your medical insurance card includes your SSN, carry a photocopy with the last four digits cut out. Write your health care provider's emergency contact numbers on your copy so that ER personnel can contact them for treatment authorization and medical history.
• Laptop computers and PDAs often contain a wealth of information for identity thieves. Be especially careful when traveling, it only takes moment's inattention for a theft to occur.
• Be on the lookout for "shoulder surfers" (lurkers seeking to get your PIN) when using an ATM. Be aware of your surroundings and shield the ATM keypad when entering your PIN.
• When talking on the phone in a public area, be careful not to disclose information that a thief could use, such as a credit card number and expiration date.
• If you're traveling, have your mail held at the local post office or ask someone you know well and trust to pick it up for you every day.

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