Card, Document And Phone Security

How to minimise the risk and impact of theft while travelling

Theft, especially credit card and identity theft, has been a long-standing problem for business travellers abroad. BeTravelwise, a UK-based travel risk management organisation, deems petty non-violent crime to be one of the most common risks business travellers face. According to Financial Fraud Action, lost and stolen credit cards cost UK cardholders £96.3m in 2016, while counterfeit card fraud cost £36.9m. So how can you avoid falling victim to it?

MAKE COPIES

Theftor loss of credit cards and other important documents can happen no matter how careful you are. One of the best ways of reducing stress and inconvenience if this does happen is to make paper copies of important documents, travel and financial, before leaving home. These usually include passport, credit cards, driving licence, hotel reservations and insurance documents. Seasoned travellers recommend making two copies of each – one to take with you, and the other to leave at home with a family member or colleague.

When making copies of passports or emailing/faxing them, some travellers suggest adding a watermark to the document for added security. MicrosoftWord has a watermark function, and you can add your own wording – “Only for hotel registration purposes”, for example – across the page, to deter identity theft.