Cyber Security Experts Warn Travelers to Avoid ID Theft

Cyber security experts said the busy summer travel season is prime time to become a victim of identity theft.

Experts like Alain Espinosa with Cyber Defense Labs said travelers often make careless mistakes that expose their private information.

Espinosa said people should avoid charging their smart devices at random power stations at airports and other public places to avoid juice jacking.

“Folks who are malicious actors will actually compromise some of those power stations that are out there,” he said. “So any traveler or person will just innocently plug in, thinking they are just charging their phone, when in the process, the malicious actor is actually stealing the phone’s data.”

Instead, Espinosa said travelers should always carry their own power adapter. He added that people should password protect all smart devices and keep them locked when not in used, never log on to public Wi-Fi or use public computers in places like a hotel.

Espinosa also said be careful about which ATMs you use on the go.

“I would not use one at a restaurant. I would not use one on the street. Even if it’s outside the bank I wouldn’t use it,” he said. “I would only use an ATM if I have to physically walk into the bank to use it. That means they’ve had it under their control and that eliminates the possibility of that ATM card being skimmed.”

Espinosa said thieves can easily alter ATMs to skim people’s debit card numbers and steal access to their bank accounts.

“Malicious actors are becoming more and more sophisticated and it’s become easier to steal your data,” he said.

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