Travelers to Europe should take a significant amount of time considering how to protect their possessions and valuables before leaving for Europe. Even more important than protecting property, however, is protecting the money you take with you on your trip. A little planning beforehand can save big headaches later.
In terms of protecting the money you have on you, look into wearing a money belt to you’re your money close to you and away from the hands of pick pockets. It is also very important to remember that protecting your money involves more than protecting the physical money you take with you. Be smart with the types of money you take as well. Look into recommendations as to whether or not debit and credit cards are safe to use in the area you will visit. In the event that you do lose your card, make sure you have a plan for how to remedy the problem and protect as much money as you can.
Many travel experts recommend taking a credit card instead of a debit card since you can dispute charges on a credit card but not on a debit card should it become lost and someone else uses it. You are much more likely to lose your cards in transition from one place to another while traveling in Europe than at home. For this reason, it is important that you have the phone numbers for your banks and credit card companies should something happen. If you do lose your card and do not have access to the Internet to find these numbers, you will not be able to cancel or freeze your accounts. Find a safe way to bring all of the necessary information to make these phone calls. For example, you may need to know your social security number, your bank account number and certain passwords in order to be able to make a phone call to fix any problems, but this isn’t always safe to carry on your person. However, you store this information on a computer, cell phone or other device that you carry, you risk losing all of this information and having it in the hands of the wrong people. Take time to consider how you can safely take this information with you.
One of the most important things you can do to protect your information and money is not to log onto important sites in unsafe places. Banking information is the most important to be careful with, but it is also important to think about every site you go to and the fact that others may be able to see your passwords at wireless hotspots. Make sure you have different passwords for all of your important accounts so someone who gains access to one will not be able to log onto others. Look into options to make your internet use safer while traveling. If you are staying in a hotel room, make sure not to store passwords on public computers in the lobby or leave any information up. If you can afford it and are taking a computer, it’s worth it to use the wireless in your room. If you need internet on the go, consider purchasing a portable wireless access card. This is much safer than using wi-fi hot spots in terms of protecting your information.
