Sunday Mornings with Rania: Staying Safe While Traveling
Returning home after 14 days out of the country was both wonderful and sad. I thoroughly enjoyed being across the globe and was thrilled to have had that opportunity to travel with my whole family. Everywhere we went, it was busy. Airports – busy. Public transportation – busy. Tourist spots – busy. Shopping centers – busy. Clearly, people are making the most of summer.
Whether you are traveling near or far, we want you to be safe and enjoy yourself. That said, here are the top 10 safety tips for the busy traveler.
- Protect your credit cards and personal information. Forget fanny packs or hiding your wallet at the bottom of your purse. Now, people can steal your credit card information by simply standing next to you on a bus, in a restaurant or on a street. It’s called “electric pickpocketing” and it’s a real problem. If you have a “chipped” credit card, that chip uses a radio-frequency identification computer chip. Additionally, that chip (even though it’s nestled in your wallet) can be scanned and copied by high-tech thieves who are up to 25 feet away from you – and you’ll never know they are doing it. Scanners used by thieves have been shown to capture information off of 39 credit cards from people nearby in just 15 minutes. Solution: Credit card sleeves with RFID blocking. These paper sleeves are usually sold in packets of 10 and protects your credit card information. Prices vary but this is an extremely inexpensive way to protect your information and a great way to ensure peace of mind.
- Guard your home. Depending on where you live, neighborhood police are available to drive by your home once or even twice a day to make sure everything looks okay. You can request this free service online. Check out the forms for The City of Houston, The City of Bellaire, The City of West University and the Memorial Villages.
- It takes a village. Let your trusted neighbors know you are traveling and ask them to watch your home. Call your alarm company and make sure they have a number of someone locally to call should your alarm go off or give them a direct number to you while you are overseas. Make sure to stop your mail, stop the newspaper and keep your house well-lit.
- Know where you are going. This means, everyone has their hotel and airfare information down but do you know where the US Embassy is in your destination country? Do you know the difference between police and military – especially if you are in an area where both roam the streets? Do you understand the way public transportation works and the most common ways people get around?
- To carry or not to carry. While you’re out and about, think of the following: Make electronic copies of your documents (passports, medical insurance, plane tickets, travel insurance, visas and more) and email the documents to yourself. Keep originals locked in the hotel safe when touring your destination city. Don’t carry everything together. Carry part of your cash in your front (never back) pocket, the remainder of your cash and credit cards in your wallet, travelers checks in your purse, and some lucky cash in your shoe. The point is, if one item is stolen, you have backup.
- Start with the man in the mirror. Look your best but think of trying to fit into your country of origin. When traveling, if possible, don’t be flashy. Keep the fancy jewelry at home and take steps not to draw attention to yourself.
- Don’t be easy. Yes, I said it. Don’t be easy! What I mean by this is don’t set yourself up to be an easy target. Pay attention, keep your head up, eyes focused and know where you’re going. It’s okay to be a tourist but you don’t need to look like a “dazed and confused” one.
- Be careful in crowds. It’s wonderful to be amongst the masses. That said, ask any peace officer and they will say that 9 times out of 10 they do not hang out in large crowds. There are many reasons: pickpockets operate easily in the gentle pushing and shoving but more importantly, and quite sadly, in today’s world – terrorists thrive on targets where crowds gather.
- Keep it bright. It doesn’t always follow that bad things happen after dark but it can be assumed that the number of things for families to do together decreases later in the day. If you’re traveling with your family, try to do your site seeing, walking and running during daylight hours.
- Plan for safety. Have a wonderful time, make memories, talk to your family, invest in each other – and do it all safely!
Posted by on 26 Jul 2016
About the author
Executive Director of Crime Stoppers of Houston