There are myriad ways identities can be stolen, and travelers expose themselves to many of them. Using credit cards or doing financial transactions with people you’ve never met in places you’ve never been before carries a certain degree of risk, but one of the biggest liabilities to travelers’ identities are those little pouches they wear around their waists. The typical traveller’s pouch usually contains credit cards, identity cards such as driver’s license or passport, home address and often a social security number. This is a goldmine to an identity thief. It gives them enough information to not only open new accounts but also commandeer existing ones.

Short of just staying home, one of the best things travelers can do to protect themselves from identity theft is to know their credit report and sign up to be alerted when new activity occurs. For those who know they are prone to high risk behaviour (like constantly losing things while traveling), there are even credit protection services that will allow people to “insure” themselves against identity theft. (See list of available options).

Another mistake travelers can make is simply disclosing too much information when asked. Car rental companies often ask for a driver’s license, credit card and home address. Add a social security number to that, and there’s nothing stopping a thief from becoming you.

If vital personal information is lost while traveling, the faster those items are reported stolen the less likely damage will be done. It is a wise idea to carry a list of the names and places to call if such an event should occur, but don’t keep that list in the same bag as everything else.