In last week’s travel tips for 2020, I shared 10 important pieces of advice to help you prepare for your trip. This week, I will introduce 10 more personal and digital security tips for you to implement into your travel routine. I will focus on things you should do during your travels to help ensure your safety during your trip. If you didn’t take the time to implement some safety and security procedures before your travels, don’t fret, it’s not too late to take on some new safety practices to protect yourself during your travels
Personal Security Tips
1. Travel Bags.
Having a good travel bag is essential to personal security. For you fashionistas out there, this does not mean sacrificing style for security. There are more and more stylish bags coming out that have security features such as RFID blockers which prevent people from taking your credit card information, slash-proof straps, and locking zippers is great but really at least having a bag with a sturdy zipper and the capability of cross-body carrying, will reduce the chance of someone snatching your bag and running. There is a fine balance between a secure bag that makes you stand out, and a semi-secure bag, that worn properly, allows you to keep a low profile and blend in.
Fun Fact: If you are one of those guys that enjoy wearing a fanny pack, but you worry that they are not yet a hometown trend, then you should travel to Cuba. When I traveled there, I felt like 4 out 5 guys were wearing fanny packs.
2. Emergency Cash/ Dummy Wallet.
When you are traveling, you should always keep aside a small amount of spending cash in a different location than your main stash of money, ID cards, and passport. By splitting up your money, and valuables, you reduce the risk of losing everything. Pickpockets watch people in order to learn where they keep their money so it is easier to take. For example, in a busy train station, a pickpocket would watch the coffee shop where there is a high volume of foot traffic and look for an easy target as people are paying for their coffee. A lady that just throws her wallet in the top of her purse and does not take the time to zip it up or the father trying to get a cup of coffee while pushing a stroller and trying to wrangle a rambunctious 3-year-old who just leaves his wallet on the top of the stroller are easy targets. Yes, I’m describing traveling with my family! With the demands of life, it is hard to be security-minded at all times but if you make a plan and split up your valuables before you go out, even if your wallet gets stolen while you chase your son through Dubai airport, all is not lost.
In case you get mugged – and hopefully, that won’t be the case – you could consider keeping an extra, fake wallet around, with just a bit of cash and 2-3 business cards or similar inconsequential items. This way, you can just hand over the fake wallet and keep the real one hidden deeper under your clothing.
Besides money, the trouble with wallets getting stolen is that you also lose hard to replace items like credit cards and travel documents. It’s best to avoid the hassle simply by outsmarting the thieves with a fake wallet, even if (hopefully) you never get the chance to use it.
3. Keep a low profile; Don’t be that annoying tourist.
Tourist areas are a criminal’s playground because they know that there will be crowds of people out of their element and too busy to notice their personal items getting stolen until it is too late. They are able to pick out easy victims because most tourists stand out. International travelers are often easier to spot because they walk around wearing their brand-new travel clothes, a camera around their neck, an overstuffed backpack, and travel book in hand. Pick an outfit that is neutral and not flashy, something that fits with the type of travel you are going to be doing. If you are going to be in a city seeing sites, do you really need those fancy hiking boots? Try not to wear brand new, designer clothes, unless you are going to a city like New York City where you will fit in. As a female, you also have to be sure you are dressing appropriately for that country’s culture, some countries, wearing inappropriate clothes is a sign of disrespect and also can be a punishable offense. By doing your research ahead of time, you can pack clothes that will help you to better fit in and not be a target.
4. Use reputable transportation.
Have you ever traveled to a new country and walked out of the airport having no idea how far you are going or much it should cost to get from the airport to your hotel? If you only remember one of these tips, this one is the most important. Road traffic incidents are the leading cause of death during travel. With road travel likely being the most dangerous part of your trip, why take additional risks by taking random taxis that are likely unregistered and unsafe? If you do not know how to find a trusted taxi, then it is best to use the hotel recommended taxis. Many countries also have an Uber-like service. If you are traveling to #ethiopia, they don’t have Uber but they have a taxi-hailing and booking platform called ‘RIDE Passenger ET’.These apps are usually pretty reliable and safe, just make sure the driver details match the vehicle upon pick up.
5. Leverage Technology
As the world becomes digital you have to leverage the technology, not become reliant on it. There are several ways to leverage technology through phone applications such as maps, translation, taxi, and tracking. A great way to comfort your loved ones, while also providing a way to locate your phone if stolen are tracking applications. As mentioned in my last post, iPhones have a built-in feature called ‘Find my’ that you can use to track your phone if lost or stolen, but it can also send location updates to your contacts and loved ones. One of my favorite apps that I use when traveling is google translate. It works well and has helped me to relate more with the local community by learning how to say things and trying it while ordering food or more, often beer. It also has a photo feature where the camera scans text and translates. This helped my wife and I while in Japan when we needed to find medicine for our 6-month-old baby and could not read the labels. We were not sure of the correct dosage and it really saved the day.
Digital Security Tips
1. Use a VPN.
Some of you might be asking yourself what is a ‘VPN’? and that is ok. For most people, a VPN is not required in your day to day life. But when you travel, especially to a foreign country a VPN is essential. VPN stands for virtual private network and creates a secure ‘tunnel’ or channel between two or more devices, cutting out snooping, interference and censorship. This still probably does not mean much, but when you connect to the internet at a hotel, you are likely going through their server and they are usually keeping a log of every connection that server makes, meaning the hotel’s server is keeping track of your activity. This includes the time you logged in and out of the internet, your name or ID number which is assigned by the server, and your room number. Even if you delete your personal log on your browser it is irrelevant to the server, all your entries are logged into the server database. This goes for public Wi-Fi as well. So, by using a VPN you can help to secure your online traffic and identity.
Fun Fact: Ever try to watch Netflix in another country and you can’t access your normal shows? With a VPN, you can connect to Netflix like you are sitting at home, on your couch. Another neat trick, VPNs allow is to choose which server you use, this means your digital footprint can appear like you are sitting at home, even though you are traveling.
2. Don’t use unknown cables or media sticks.
Most of us know that if you borrow a media stick, also known as a thumb drive or flash drive, that the chances of getting a virus are higher, but did you know that charging cables can also be infected with malware or viruses and when you go to charge your phone it gets infected? I did not know that, until recently. Avoid using free charging stations, even at the airport and do not borrow chargers from unknown sources. A technique that is becoming popular is leaving a perfectly good charger in a public place that is affected with malware in hopes that someone will use it, then the criminal will have access to that individual device and can use it for malicious purposes such as identity theft. The good thing is that this is easy to mitigate against; you bring your own cable and power bank. You can charge your power bank without concern unless of course it also acts as a memory bank as well, but most do not. You get what you pay for, so the next time you go to buy a new charger, don’t purchase off-brand, weird cables from unverified sources or you could end up buying an affected cable.
3. Don’t accept software, updates, downloads or patches.
Unless your company IT requests you to do an update while traveling or you are traveling for an extended period of time. You should wait until you are back home to do any updates, software downloads or patches to your computer or phone. Not only will this open you up to digital security vulnerabilities but also it can be a grave inconvenience when something goes wrong. Some applications and software are programmed differently for different countries so if you are using a program that you downloaded in the USA, and you want to perform an update or patch while overseas, it might not match up perfectly and cause bugs in the program. It can also create further vulnerabilities that hackers can take advantage of. If you cannot wait until you are home or you are traveling for an extended period of time and you must do that update or download, use a VPN and select a server that is in your home country.
4. Practice Safe Web Browsing.
The digital world can be a dangerous place if you do not take safety precautions. You normally would not walk through a neighborhood if you knew it was dangerous or unfamiliar, so do not visit dangerous neighborhoods online. Some might ask, but how do you know what is safe and what is unsafe? and that is a good question. On the internet, it can be hard to tell what is safe and what is unsafe. So unless you are IT expert, just follow some simple guidelines such as not sharing your personal information, use a VPN, use strong passwords (and change them!!!), use HTTPS sites, avoid public Wi-Fi spots, and ensure your web browser is up-to-date before you travel. If you are unsure of a website or a link, do not go to it, and again, never enter personal information unless it is a trusted website.
5. Careful what you post on Social Media.
The dangers of travel are not always obvious or direct. I spoke last week about turning off geo-tagging on your photos or you could come home to find your house burglarized, but you also need to be cognizant about what you are posting while you are traveling. The laws in other countries may be different from those in the USA and you need to be aware of what they are so that you do not inadvertently violate them. For example, in Dubai, if you post a picture of someone without getting their permission it can be a punishable offense including jail time of up to 6 months and a fine of the equivalent of $40,000 USD. In some countries, if you post negative comments about the government, you can end up being detained for months. Some might argue that it is uncommon for the laws to be enforced, but it is nonetheless the law and there are cases of foreigners being arrested and deported for such offenses. Point is that if you are traveling to a foreign country, you must follow that country’s laws, even when it comes to freedom of speech.
As we round up for the week, I hope these tips make sense and are relevant to your travel needs. I will post more tips next week, but in the meantime, if you are planning a trip to East Africa give me a shout for local travel advice or further security needs.
Until next week… Salamu.