When you travel, you think about sightseeing and having fun. However, if you relax your guard while on vacation, you could put your money at serious risk.
Thieves are always looking for unsuspecting tourists, waiting for the opportunity to steal wallets and other personal belongings such as smartphones and other gadgets. The survey, commissioned by the personal data theft protection service Experian, found that 39% of respondents were victims of crime while travelling.
Fortunately, there are a few things that can help answer the question "How to save money while travelling?" If you follow these safety guidelines, you can enjoy your free time in peace.
Banks often have sophisticated fraud monitoring systems, so they will flag purchases made outside of your usual geographic area. If you live in, say, Moscow and use your debit or credit card when travelling to Sri Lanka, the bank may assume that these purchases are fraudulent and will freeze your account.
For best results, let your bank know when and where you will be travelling. This will allow you to keep spending money because he will not perceive your purchases as fraudulent. Also, make sure the bank has your current mobile phone number so that it can contact you if it suspects fraud.
Lighten the burden on your wallet
Before you hit the road, be sure to take the time to clear out of your wallet anything you don't need for your trip, whether it's extra credit cards or discount cards and coupons. Bare your wallet. Then, if it gets stolen, you only have to restore a couple of cards, not the whole pack.
Leave important documents at home
If you want to protect your money, be sure to leave important documents such as SNILS at home. Losing items that contain invaluable personal information will make you highly susceptible to theft of your funds and other forms of fraud (for example, taking out loans in your name).
If you need to bring your passport to travel overseas, consider keeping it locked up in your hotel safe rather than in your bag or pocket when you do your sightseeing.
Keep track of some documents
Scan your passport, driver's license, and other identification documents before you travel and email them to yourself and your family member or a close friend. If you lose important papers, having electronic copies will save you time and money.
You should also create an inventory of everything in your wallet. You can scan your credit and debit cards, or write down account numbers and contact information for your banks to help protect your own wallet. Follow this travel safety tip and you'll know what you're missing if your wallet is stolen. Then you can block the required accounts in a short time if the thieves get your cards.
Don't keep cash in one place
If you take cash with you when travelling, don't keep it all in one place if you want to keep your money safe. Keep cash in your wallet, front pocket, or money belt - and store the rest in a safe place, like a locked safe in your hotel room.
Make sure you do not put cash in your luggage. If you've put some of your savings in your carry-on baggage, be aware that you may be asked to check it before boarding if the bag is too heavy. So be sure to collect your money before your luggage or luggage is inspected. This is one of the most important and simple rules on how to save money while travelling.
Be careful where you get your cash
If you need money while travelling, be careful where you get it. Use only ATMs that are inside the bank or directly related to its building, because they will be better monitored. And avoid any ATMs with exposed parts or signs of tampering and devices in the card exit slot. In other words, beware of anything that makes your card information easier to access.
If you are travelling abroad, also avoid currency exchange at tourist locations such as airports because you will have to pay higher fees. You can pay a much lower exchange fee by converting currency at your local bank.
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Pidurangala Rock, Sri Lanka |
Sign up for account alerts
Your bank is likely to offer the option to subscribe via email or in-app to notifications about possible fraudulent activities with your account. For example, online banking allows account holders to receive alerts when transactions are made above a certain dollar amount or when an account balance falls below a certain threshold.
These alerts can help you monitor your account and pinpoint any unauthorized transactions. Be sure to sign up for your personal bank accounts before going on vacation so you can spot any fraudulent activity and act quickly to keep your money safe. Also, do not disable regular SMS notifications about your operations.
Don't use public Wi-Fi to access accounts
Using public Wi-Fi to surf the internet from your phone while travelling may seem like a pretty smart and profitable move. First of all, you are happy that you do not exceed the tariff limits of your gadgets and generally save on data transfer.
But you can put your finances and personal information at risk if you log into bank accounts using public Wi-Fi. This is because hackers have multiple ways to break into your internet connection - even in hotels - and intercept the information you transmit.
Cellular signals are harder to hack and hence a higher criminal skill is required. Thus, while your phone is not 100% secure, you are much less likely to be jailbroken this way.
Keep your phone password protected
Make sure your phone is password protected and that financial account apps have strong passwords with a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and other symbols. Following this advice makes the gadget a harder target for thieves, as they will have to struggle to gain access to your personal information if your phone is stolen or lost.
Don't make your wallet an easy target
While it is important to take steps to avoid high-tech methods of stealing your bank account information, make sure that you don't make it easy for thieves to commit a crime. Think that no one can get your money in an old-fashioned way - by stealing your wallet because of your own inattention and irresponsibility.
Women should keep their wallet at the bottom of the bag, which can be closed with a zipper or rivets. Men, on the other hand, should keep their wallet in the front pocket, not in the back, where it can be easily snatched.
For a safer solution, choose to carry money in a bag or garter around your neck. The pickpocket problem has gotten so bad that money belts don't seem to work. Thus, a bag that is around your neck is the best option because it is hidden under your clothes, which is much more effective. Never carry more than one bank card and a small amount of local currency in your pocket.
Be vigilant in crowded places
Be careful to keep your money safe in public places like subways and train stations. Also try to remain vigilant about people who try to distract you by asking for directions or pushing, mistakenly hugging and calling you. They can be paired with another person who grabs the wallet while your attention is focused on the figurehead.
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| Akurala Beach, Sri Lanka , Galle, Sri Lanka |
