Evo Terra is one-half of The Opportunistic Travelers. He and his wife, Sheila Dee, are full-time travelers, sharing the stories of their everyday experiences in podcasts, videos and blog posts as they travel the globe. Busy with assignments covering fascinating destinations, they bring a full-time perspective to global travel.
Being safe when you travel is just a smart thing to do. Protecting your stuff from being stolen, using RFID-blocking accessories and keeping your valuables out of sight are all obvious choices. But what about maintaining your online security?
When I travel, I have the following safety concerns:
Getting Hacked/Phished
Hacked, in this case, means someone has stolen my login credentials to one or more online services. Phished is similar, but it means I’ve accidentally or inadvertently given my login credentials away.
Not Having Access to Money
This is likely a direct result of being hacked/phished, but not always. Credit cards can be ripped off several ways, from dummy ATMs to unscrupulous waiters in a restaurant.
Physical Safety
Rather than trying to curtail my online check-ins, I actually use the transparency those check-ins provide to increase my feeling of personal safety. Yeah, it sounds a little counter-intuitive but it’ll make sense as you read on, I promise.
I love my greenbacks, but they aren’t quite as pretty as other currencies. Image via Sheila Dee
Here’s how I tackle those three safety concerns:
Technique #1: Be Smart About Passwords
How many stories are out there about online hackers stealing account information or the number of people who still use “password” as their password? Here are some smart and easy techniques to ensure your password is hard to compromise.
0regonGo!
For “commodity” sites (where I don’t have any financial data stored), I use the 0regonGo! method. It’s a two-part password: The first part, “0regon,” is always the same—no, it’s not really 0regon, but it works as a good example. The second part is different every time (and it’s never “Go!”). Instead, it’s the first two letters—the first always capitalized—of the online service, followed by an exclamation mark, which is a non-alphanumeric character. So for my Line account, it would be 0regonLi! And for Workflowy, it would be 0regonWo!. And so on. (Note: the first letter is a zero and not a capital O. That’s to get around the pesky site that requires a mix of capitalization, numeric and non-alphanumeric passwords.)
correcthorsebatterystaple
For sites that have sensitive data, I use four common words that mean absolutely nothing when strung together as a sentence. However, I can make up a corresponding story in my head that I’ll always remember. (Note: I never use the same four common words for multiple sites.)
Passpack
For critical accounts (like bank accounts) and passwords I share with others (my wife), I love the convenience and security of a service like Passpack. With a single mouse click, I can automatically log in to any of my accounts and I never once have to actually see the password when I’m logging in—ensuring it won’t be picked off by prying eyes or some keylogging piece of spyware. (Note: Many services like Google offer something called 2-step authentication. It’s not for the technically terrified, but it’s a super smart extra layer of protection. Give yourself plenty of time to properly implement it.)
Pro Tip: The time to get your passwords in order is now, before you travel. Waiting to do this until you’re on the road, or hacked/phished, is really too late.
Would you rather actually see Brussels, or spend your time trying to get un-hacked? Image via Sheila Dee
Technique #2: Be Smart With Credit/Debit Cards
Now let’s talk about money. Specifically, how I keep the bad guys from ripping off my bank accounts while I’m traveling. Some experts will tell you to use cash, only and always. But for full-time travelers like me that’s just not practical. Here are the rules I follow when I whip out the plastic while abroad.
Keep your card in your own hand
Portable credit card readers and customer-facing machines are becoming the norm just about everywhere. As long as I can swipe my card myself, I’m comfortable—but I’m not handing my card to a waiter if he’s going to walk off with it and run the charge somewhere else. In those cases, I use cash.
Use a bank that refunds all ATM charges
Because I use cash a lot yet don’t want to travel with a safe strapped to my back, I hit the ATM frequently; like, two to three times a week. That’s a lot of ATM fees, which can quickly add up. But my bank (Charles Schwab) reimburses me on all of those fees. And unless I have no other option, I use ATMs that are physically attached to a bank.
Have transaction alerts tied to your cards
Just about every bank has online banking with an alerts section. I have mine set to send me an email or text *every* time a transaction is made. It means there are extra emails to wipe out and maybe a few more pennies in data charges to my phone, but if something comes across I didn’t authorize, I can take care of it immediately.
Get an overview of all your accounts
Mint (a money-managing site from Intuit) is a super helpful (and free!) service that logs into all of my accounts for me. I get a great overall snapshot, with the ability to go deeper to look at any single transaction. I can also set up a whole series of alerts when accounts get low or when bills are due…which is great when you’re on the road. And I check it at least three times per week, so I always know where I stand financially.
Pro Tip: It’s easy to obsess over money, and doing so when you travel eats into the good time you’re supposed to be having. But if you follow these few simple steps, it can give you peace of mind without curtailing any of your activities.
Just checking in. Again. Image via Sheila Dee
Technique #3: There’s Security in “Oversharing”
I overshare my physical location whenever I travel. I’m aware of how odd that sounds since conventional wisdom says I’m announcing to the world it’s a good time to break into my house. But it only takes minutes to break in and steal a TV, so no one needs to wait for the three-week period when I’ve asked the neighbors to water my plants.
Let people know where you are
In the highly unlikely event I am kidnapped/stranded/passed out in a ditch somewhere, lots of people know the last place I was and when I was there. Everyone knows exactly where I was in Thailand two hours ago thanks to an Instagram post or a Swarm check-in from breakfast. (In fact, my network gets a little worried when I haven’t posted or checked in every few hours.)
In the event my email credentials are phished or hacked, my contacts will be less likely to fall for the “I’ve lost my passport in London and need you to Paypal me $4K to get out of jail” scams that are all too commonplace because they (and everyone else) knows I’m in Thailand—not London. And remember that not all hacking is about you; quite often, what hackers and phisers really want is access to your network. If it’s large enough, that increases their chances that someone will fall for their ruse.
I get that this approach isn’t great for everyone, but it works for me. I like living out loud. You may not. That’s OK. My suggestions on password safety and keeping your bank accounts protected work well enough on their own. This one was just a bonus.
Safe travels!
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