Even though you may be among the world’s most frequent and cautious travelers, travelers are particularly vulnerable to identity theft, hacking, and falling for cunning schemes to keep Digital Privacy.

I like to think of myself as somewhat “up there” in terms of tech-savviness because I was formerly an IT technician. However, when I received an unexpected PayPal invoice from a business I had previously done business with, I was completely confused.

It turned out to be a fraudulent invoice that was sent under that company’s name through PayPal. And I’m not embarrassed to say that I nearly paid for it.

Hackers and scammers are becoming more sophisticated these days. I don’t mean to scare you, but knowing a little bit about digital security is helpful. Starting with the most fundamental, I’ve listed some of my best advice on how to protect your privacy when traveling.

You must obtain a one-time code through email, text message, or a secure authentication software like Google Authenticator in order to use Two-Factor Authentication, also known as Multi-Factor Authentication (2FA or MFA). In addition to your password, this provides you with an additional degree of security.

You should set up two-factor authentication on your accounts whenever you can.

It’s crucial to understand that security questions aren’t a reliable safety precaution. Because security questions are simple for hackers to figure out, they can frequently be a problem. Someone could likely discover the name of your first cat from an old Facebook post, and your mother’s maiden name isn’t really a mystery.

Although it may seem complicated at first, the idea of a virtual private network (VPN) is actually rather straightforward. By directing your internet traffic via a secure data “tunnel,” a VPN preserves your privacy. Additionally, it encrypts the traffic so that anyone who manages to get into the tunnel cannot read it.

Furthermore, a VPN will protect your important information, like credit card numbers, financial information, and login credentials (passwords and usernames). A hacker would only see nonsense rather than real data even if they were to get access to your connection.

One of the most affordable solutions available is the Bitdefender VPN, which offers an extremely secure connection at a very affordable cost.

Are you worried that a hacker may still access your phone and intercept the one-time code even if you have 2FA enabled? You ought to be.

There are real-world repercussions to this situation. The answer is straightforward: use a pin number to secure your SIM card.

In addition to protecting your phone number in the event that your phone is stolen, it prevents anyone—including hackers—from accessing the SIM card without a password.

You should be able to locate the SIM PIN in your settings, depending on the kind of phone you’re using. On an iPhone, for instance, simply select Settings and then Cellular. Keep in mind that you must first obtain the original PIN, also known as the Pin Unlock Key (PUK). Simply contact your service provider to inquire.

To lock your SIM with a pin code, make another call.

Always double-check everything before clicking links in emails or texts from your bank or other social media accounts. If needed, give your bank a call. Sometimes scammers will pose as your bank, send you an email or text message alerting you to a low balance, and ask you to click on a link. This will lead you to a fake website that mimics the actual bank website, where you will enter your bank information and be defrauded.

Then there are the realistic posts from Instagram, Facebook, and other social media sites. Instagram recently sent me an email claiming that my work violated copyright, even though it appeared to be entirely authentic.

Ask questions about everything if a buddy on Instagram or Facebook sends you odd messages. I was asked to vote for an Instagram acquaintance in a contest a few weeks ago. When I said, “Of course,” they requested my phone number so they could email me a link to cast my ballot. They then requested that I provide them a screenshot of the URL. What actually took place? They wanted to manually take my account and sent me a URL to reset my Instagram password.

Last but not least, avoid paying unexpected invoices. Although it should go without saying, some people are using Quickbooks and PayPal to send legitimate invoices. It’s similar to spam, except that they use real platforms to deliver authentic invoices rather than phony email addresses. It is simple to become confused.

What is the number of passwords you use? More than one, hopefully.

You ought to use a distinct password for each account you have in order to maximize security. Nowadays, that is a fundamental necessity rather than merely a recommendation. A single password could be used by someone else to gain access to all of your accounts if you use it for all of them.

Suppose your primary password is compromised and your Netflix account is compromised. You’re in serious trouble if that password is the same as your online banking password.

Naturally, you won’t be able to remember dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of passwords. If you keep all of your passwords on your desktop in a Word document, thenI’m not sure what to say to you. All of your passwords can be kept in a single, secure “vault” and accessed with a single, universal password if you use a password manager like Bitdefender’s.

This implies that you can access all of your credentials with only one password, and that if one account is compromised, the security problem is limited to that one account.

You’ve probably heard of the typical credit card hacks, such as skimming, which involves stealing a user’s credit and debit card information while they’re at an ATM. However, today’s credit card hackers are far more cunning.

Whether on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, we are constantly bombarded with advertisements, but it can be challenging to determine which businesses are trustworthy. Additionally, such businesses may be selling your information to other businesses.

One of my pals, for instance, had her Visa compromised repeatedly. When she contacted to find out why, the agent advised her to delete any stored credit card information with suppliers and to begin going over all of her bank transactions.

Some banks will even provide you with a “virtual” credit card number—a digital representation of your actual credit card—for one-time payments. In the event that your phone is stolen, Bank of America will provide you with a unique card number in your digital wallet that is distinct from your actual card.

Your security and privacy may be at danger from public, unprotected WiFi networks, primarily because they are accessible to everybody. No one else has any problems connecting to this network if you do. Leaving your front door open is analogous to this. At some point, an unwelcome visitor will enter.

A hacker can read all of your chats, take sensitive information, and even access your devices to continue taking data after you’ve turned off for the night if they are on the same open network as you.

Avoiding public WiFi networks, particularly those without password protection, can help you avoid this.

Regarding password security, it’s also a good idea to change your passwords frequently and see whether your login information has been compromised. For instance, if you use Google Chrome, you may check for security flaws and data breaches by going to Password Manager > Privacy & Security. I usually do this once a month or so. It’s very easy.

Alternatively, you can use a useful program like Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection, which will constantly check your accounts for vulnerabilities and search the internet for leaks of personal information. You may rest easy knowing that you have a trustworthy identity protection service.

Stay with me even though we have now formally entered the more tedious and technical aspects of online security.

For many years, HTTP was the norm, but in order to safeguard users’ privacy, the majority of websites now employ HTTPS. Similar to a VPN, HTTPS uses encryption to stop hackers from intercepting information sent back and forth between a website and its users.

Messages, emails, transactions, bank account information, credit card information, and login credentials are all included. The basic notion is that if HTTPS is being utilized, hackers will not be able to decrypt communications between you and a website.

Google Chrome and other modern web browsers display HTTPS webpages differently than HTTP ones. By quickly examining the address bar, you may determine whether the website you are currently on is using HTTPS. While HTTPS websites show a padlock icon next to the URL on the left, HTTP websites are marked as Not secure.

Remember that HTTPS and VPN are two completely separate things: While a VPN provides system-wide safety for all Internet-enabled apps (such as your browser, email, SMS, etc.), HTTPS simply encrypts browser traffic. Using a VPN and limiting your connections to HTTPS websites wherever feasible are the best ways to protect your privacy.

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