How an 'Airport Selfie' Can Ruin Your Trip
Many travellers get into trouble because of the selfies they take at the airport. The temptation to announce to your friends and loved ones that you have little time to enter the plane and make an international trip often leaves travellers vulnerable. The problem begins when they share these photos on their social media.
Avoid such an urge if you want to share photos during your vacation or in the airport as you prepare to leave. When you share an airport selfie, you let strangers know you are not home. For instance, your boarding pass contains information that allows thieves to ruin you.
Read: How to Protect Yourself from Travel Scams: An International Student Guide
What Hackers Can Do with Boarding Pass Information?
When you expose your flight ticket with its barcode, hackers can scan it and track your full name, reservation number, and contact information. With this information, a hacker can decide to cancel your return flight, steal your identity, or steal money from your cards.
Hackers can call you as fake airline representatives for your credit card details during your trip. In addition, they can use the information on your social media to wreak financial and security havoc on you.
Why would you want to take away your home security when you post your vacation photos abroad, especially if no one is home? You can post those beautiful photos when you return from that trip.
How to Protect Yourself When You Travel
Personal information
1. You should remove personal details like telephone numbers and home addresses from your social media profile pages.
2. Avoid making location updates on your profile page.
3. Do not post photos of your plane tickets or passport online.
Read: Marriage for Papers Scam: A Guide For International Students
Private Settings
1. You should know who you share information online with on your social media.
2. Ensure you set your account settings to private and only make posts visible to friends.
Public Wi-Fi
1. Ensure your connection is secure if you are using public Wi-Fi. For instance, hotels, cafes, or shops offer unsecured Wi-Fi networks.
2. You should be careful when connecting to this network type to avoid monitoring. Hackers can use Wi-Fi hotspots to steal data from unprotected networks.
3. Install a VPN.
Hotel USB Slots
1. A hotel USB slot could be dangerous to use.
2. You should always charge your devices when you board a plane.
3. Carry a power bank for support.
Is There a Safe Way to Share Holiday Photos Online?
1) Resist the urge to let your followers know your home is empty when you post photos or information advertising that you are away.
2) You should know who sees your information online before posting.
3) Set your account private, allowing only friends to see your photos.
4) Don’t leave personal details on your profile pages; anyone can access them.
5) Do not make status updates sharing your location.
6) You should not post photos of your passport, plane tickets, or other documents.
7) Post your trip photos when you come home.
Read: How to Avoid Student Visa Scams
In conclusion, you can learn more about security and safety tips when travelling with our Pay4Me App. Everything about cross-border payments and travel resources is on our app. Download the Pay4Me App from the Google Play Store or app store today.