Travelers often talk of keeping a close eye on one's passport. The logic is simple: it is any tourist's legal document permitting their entrance and exit in a country. Losing a passport places owners at risk of identity theft. Any American traveler who has lost a passport are advised to approach a US embassy and file a police report.
According to Business Insider -- citing their research from the US Department of State's online resource -- American travelers who lost their passports should first inform the country's US Embassy and file a police report on the loss. Pre-emptively, having a passport photocopy in preparation for such unfortunate situations also help
Business Insider said the US Department of State's website has a page containing all contact information of US embassies worldwide. It would be best to inform the consular officer if the passport was stolen and the possible return to US flight date. A police report - complete with police verification and documents - can help prove passport loss to the US embassy efficiently.
Passports and other personal information thieves and scammers could use to access banking accounts and other online and offline accounts. As a precaution after a passport loss, travelers must inform their banks to freeze account access and report passport loss as the reason. According to Man Vs Debt, other information such as physical address, social media profiles, complete names and even hobbies scammers can use against security questions to access your accounts.
Tourist scams are fairly common in almost any country. In Europe, these scams range from simple "deaf beggar" charity scams to complete swindles such as fake gold inside "lost-and-found" rings. Some cons include the need for passports to verify age for certain product purchases - enabling scammers to steal your passport in the first place.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
