Many Alaskans travel during the holidays and the Better Business Bureau is giving vacationers travel tips to avoid identity theft and scams aimed at travelers.
The Bureau’s Alaska Regional Manager Michelle Tabler says public wifi is an easy way for fraudsters to gain access to personal information.
Tabler: “You’ve got to be really careful on any public wifi, it’s ok if you’re just checking just your normal things but you never want to check any bank accounts, credit cards statements, nothing that your putting a password into.”
Travelers should also be cautious in posting too much information on social media.
Tabler: “We’re all really tempted to share our travel photos while were on vacation or with our family, just be really careful about doing that. If you’re all gone and you’re on vacation and your home is unoccupied that is a huge red flag and the scammers are saying hey that home is unoccupied, let’s go rob it.”
More tips and scams to be aware of while traveling:
- Fake Travel Websites: Beware of look-alike websites when making hotel and airplane reservations. Book directly with the hotel, airline or reseller’s website. Otherwise scammers can steal your personal and credit card information and leave you without a place to stay.
- Bogus Wi-Fi hubs: Never use public Wi-Fi, including hotel internet access, for online banking or other financial account management. Fraudsters can easily create fake Wi-Fi hubs, then gain access to personal information and passwords.
- Slick Hotel Tricks: Even after hotel guests arrive in their rooms, scammers will easily fool victims by calling and claiming to be the front desk asking to verify information. Never give out credit card numbers or personal data over the phone. Instead, visit hotel management in person.
- Vacation Rentals: Watch for fake rental listings and too good to be true vacation packages. Scammers can easily hijack legitimate online listings and make it look like their own. Deal directly with the property owner or manager and be sure to verify that the property actually exists by researching online.
