A Digital Safety Checklist for Summer Travel

Before your trip begins, take steps to protect against fraud and identity theft

Phone charger? Check. Streaming music service activated in the car? Check. Tablets to keep the kiddos entertained? Check. You’re getting ready for a summer trip, and along with the sunglasses and swimwear, you’re planning to bring all the digital services and devices that keep the entire crew happy and connected. But does your checklist also include things that help you avoid the increased risks of fraud or identity theft that often come with travel?

Whether you’re hitting the highway or taking to the skies for your next warm-weather adventure, be sure to add these virtual items to your “packing” list. They’re designed to protect your family’s identity, privacy, and peace of mind, so you can relax and have fun during your vacation.

Data backup

Before heading out, be sure to back up your data to an external hard drive or the cloud (preferably both). Do this for all of your devices, so that if any device is lost, stolen, or damaged while you’re on vacation, you’ll still have access to important files and settings.

Multi-factor authentication

Given the unfamiliar surroundings, it’s easy to see how devices can disappear during vacations. Should it happen to you, you’ll want to make sure that your device can’t be unlocked even if it falls into the wrong hands. The best way to do it: Enable multi-factor authentication, which confirms your identity by asking you to take more than one action at login. To unlock your device, the first step should involve a passcode; the second step should involve biometric authentication such as scanning your face or fingerprint. (On an iPhone, set up Touch ID or Face ID. On Android devices, set up fingerprint scanning.)

Password management

From booking a travel itinerary to doing some casual shopping poolside, chances are you’ll be logged in to some of your online accounts before and during your trip. Make sure you’re using strong passwords that others can’t hack into. The simplest way to handle passwords—without having to remember all of them—is to use a password manager. It’s a tool that automatically creates and stores encrypted, hard-to-guess passwords for all your accounts. You use just a single strong password to open it; from there you can easily access your accounts. A password manager like the one offered by IDX allows you to safely store not only passwords but sensitive personal data like banking and credit card information, passports, and Social Security information.

Virtual private network (VPN)

Most people want to stay connected while on vacation, which means using Wi-Fi at hotels, airports, tourist spots, and other public areas. Unfortunately, those places are fertile ground for scammers who can tap into open Wi-Fi networks to spy on you, track you, or plant malware on your device. They can even create their own fake networks to collect your personal data and steal your identity. When traveling, it’s a good idea to disable “auto-join” in your device’s Wi-Fi settings, so you can avoid connecting to unsafe open networks. If you must use public Wi-Fi, first activate a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN encrypts your connection and delivers your data anonymously, so no one can access your personal information, online activity, or location.

Software updates

In the time it takes for an ice cream cone to start melting in the hot sun, a new cyberthreat typically emerges. That’s why device manufacturers constantly update their operating systems to include the latest security fixes. The easiest way to ensure that your device has the most recent software upgrade is to go into your settings and turn on automatic updates. Similarly, make sure you have anti-virus protection installed on your devices, and that the software remains up to date.

Credit card transaction alerts

Credit card fraud is a concern both at home and on the road—the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported more than 400,000 such cases in 2023. To help minimize any damage should fraudsters get hold of your card data, consider setting up specific types of transaction alerts through your credit card company. For example, you might want to be alerted by text if a transaction exceeds a certain dollar amount, or if there's been an international transaction on your card.

Credit monitoring

Need to stop at a gas station or ATM? Watch out for “skimming,” in which fraudsters tamper with the credit card swiping mechanism to steal information from your card’s magnetic strip. (Having a contactless or chip-enabled card allows you to avoid swiping, but you might encounter older gas pumps or ATMs that don’t have this updated technology.) If your credit card data is stolen, you might not know it until months later. Along with credit card transaction alerts, a good way to get an early warning about suspicious financial activity in your name is to set up continuous monitoring of your credit report and credit score.

Stricter privacy settings

If you’re like a lot of people, you’ll post photos to social media in real time during your trip, so friends and family can share in your experiences. But if you have location services activated on your device, your exact location can be pinpointed through those images—which could lead to bad actors targeting you. It’s wise to turn off location services during your trip except when you need them for critical functions like navigation. Choose strict privacy settings on social media so that only trusted contacts can view your posts. Better still, consider waiting until you return home before posting those travel photos.

Privacy and identity protection bundle

Whether dealing with limited cargo space in your car or crowded overhead bins on planes, you know the importance of packing your bags efficiently. That same thinking should go into choosing services for identity and privacy protection. Instead of purchasing individual cybersecurity measures, consider getting a comprehensive plan that bundles these services, such as IDX’s Complete Plan. The plan offers a wide range of protective features—including credit monitoring, a VPN, social media monitoring, and a password manager—as well as $1 million in identity theft insurance and a 100% identity recovery money-back guarantee.