Traveling helps people to be free and be relaxed from the hustle and bustle of the city work life.
To ensure that your travel will be worth the adventure and thrill, corresponding vigilance is needed to keep yourself away from worst case scenarios of being scammed, skimmed and robbed.
According to Irish Times, here are some of the useful tips to remember to ensure a worry-free vacation and to avoid skimmers, scammers and robbers, as follows:
Be Vigilant; Always ensure your cash and cards are safe
Never keep your valuables in backpacks. Some robbers mostly would pick pockets especially when you neither see nor feel it, so ensure that your money are kept in a safe place. You may use money belts.
Always keep your cash and cards safe. You may use the hotel/accommodation's vault/safe to store extra cash, cards and passports.
When going out, consider reducing your wallet or purse to the minimum, avoid bulky wallet so that it would not catch the attention of pickpockets.
Be extra careful when transacting with your Credit Card
Since banks and credit card providers are always increasing security and is monitoring unusual activity on cards, before you travel abroad, you should notify your card provider of where you will be.
You can also arrange with your bank to have a daily withdrawal limit.
Be careful in using internet cafes abroad which requires entering your personal information and most importantly, and never use them if it will involve paying with credit or debit cards to untrusted online shops.
Be Alert on ATM Skimmers and Scammers
As discussed by The Planet D, ATM skimmers can use different methods to steal your card and obtain relevant banking information.
A skimmer is a device that can be attached to the mouth of an ATM that can discretely note down credit and debit card information.
Use ATMs only at banks with proper lights and with no suspicious people within the vicinity.
Never enter your PIN more than once. If it does not work the first time, cancel the transaction immediately. If your card has been captured in the ATM machine, immediately report it to the issuer as lost or stolen.
Beware of Fake Official and Helpful Strangers as they may be part of the scam
Even though there are police visibility in the area, you should not get complacent, since the robbers might still be there hiding and waiting for their chance to execute their evil deeds.
Much more, some are fake officials who would ask your documents (i.e. travel docs like passport) and then to get them back, they ask for a bribe, as relayed by The Planet D.
Don't ever hand over your documents to a stranger especially if you feel that something is fishy.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
