With summer just around the corner, you may be thinking of taking a trip. While you may have earned some rest and relaxation, being a tourist can make you a target for potential theft. Before taking to the road or sky, here are a few tips to keep you financially safe while traveling.

Prepare your finances ahead of time

Ensure your vacation goes without a hitch by preparing your finances before your trip. The last thing on your mind will be paying bills, but “future you” will thank you for taking the steps needed to make sure your bills are paid on time. Don’t miss a payment, and remember to set up autopay.

Avoid freezing your accounts and locking up your methods of payment by calling your credit card issuers and informing them you’ll be traveling. Notifying them will help you avoid any fraud alerts, and will allow you to spend freely, without the need to take the time to get it all sorted while you’re on a beach.

Protect Your Valuables

You’ve arrived and you’re ready to take in the sights and sounds of a new destination, but before you go exploring be sure your valuables are safe from thieves. Always lock up things like passports, IDs, cash, and credit cards in a safe. Pickpockets have stepped up their game to digital pickpocketing, using radio-frequency identification to “skim” the chip in your card to steal your card information, all without any physical contact. Guard yourself with an RFID blocking wallet to prevent RFID theft.

Split Your Money

It’s never a good idea to put all of your eggs in one basket–or in this case, it’s credit cards in one basket. If you happen to lose your wallet or bag with everything you have you’re out of luck, so it’s recommended you place some extra funds away in the hotel just in case.

Protect Your Electronic Devices

Just like your wallet–your laptop, iPad, and phone also carry important personal and financial information that can be useful for thieves. Make sure to password-protect your phone and other electronic items to prevent thieves from accessing your information.

Review Your Trip Finances

Once you’ve made it safely back home, you’ll want to double-check your accounts to see that every transaction lines up. If you spot something that isn’t accurate, contact your bank, credit union, or credit card issuer, and report it immediately. If you suspect that your debit card or credit card information has been stolen, change your pin. This will prevent scammers from using your information even if they’ve cloned your card.

The theft of your personal identity can be devastating. Try Checking PLUS and equip yourself with Restoration Rescue, a comprehensive service that gives you your very own identity theft restoration team to help you get back on track. Visit HughesFCU.org/Plus to learn more.

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