4 Useful Ways to Secure Your Valuables on Vacation

Whether you’re headed for the beach, the mountains, or a national park, you probably relax when you’re on summer vacation. And that’s great—until it isn’t.

Professional crooks love peak travel season just as much as you do. Criminals actively cluster around major vacation destinations, knowing that crowds are dense, distractions are high, and tourists are relaxed.

When you’re managing a family—wrangling kids, carrying extra gear, and navigating unfamiliar streets—your guard naturally drops. This makes your family an appealing target for pickpockets,
scammers, and thieves.

Protecting your loved ones and your hard-earned money doesn’t mean you have to be paranoid; it just requires a few smart, routine habits to outsmart local opportunists. Some tips:

• Split up your cash and cards. Never carry all your money in one wallet. Keep a primary credit card and a small amount of cash on you, and secure the rest—including backup cards and emergency cash—in your hotel room safe or another secure spot.
• Lock down digital devices. Turn off autoconnect for public wifi on your family’s phones and tablets to prevent data theft. Back up all family photos to the cloud before leaving home, and enable “Find My Device” tracking on every phone.
• Keep your gear in motion. Never leave bags, laptops, or cameras sitting on the ground or hanging off the back of a restaurant chair. Use an over-the-shoulder cross-body bag, and keep it zipped and positioned in front of your body.
• Purge the rental car. Thieves can easily identify rented vehicles. When parking at beaches or trailheads, stow all strollers, bags, and tech completely out of sight in the trunk before you arrive at your destination.

  Going on vacation soon? Let Jeanne D’Arc know! You can set a travel alert in Online & Mobile Banking so your trip goes off without a hitch.