Travel is one of life’s greatest joys. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the times when we’re most vulnerable—not just to pickpockets, but to scammers, hackers, and thieves looking to steal our digital identities.

Despite spending years working in information technology, I’ve never had one of my online accounts compromised while traveling. I don’t think that’s luck; I think it’s because I’ve made digital security a habit.

That doesn’t mean I haven’t been targeted.

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While walking through a crowded overseas metropolis, someone tried to snatch my phone right out of my hand. It happened in seconds. Had they succeeded, they wouldn’t have just stolen an expensive device—they would have walked away with my banking apps, email, travel reservations, authentication codes, and access to much of my digital life.

That experience reinforced something I already believed: today, protecting your phone is every bit as important as protecting your wallet.

When You’re Most at Risk

Travel creates opportunities for criminals because we’re distracted, tired, and often using unfamiliar technology.

Some of the riskiest situations include connecting to hotel or airport Wi-Fi, logging into financial accounts on public networks, using public USB charging stations, or walking through crowded tourist areas where phone theft is common.

While staying at a hotel in Morocco, I was uncomfortable when the Wi-Fi sign in required personal information just to connect. With no cellular service available, I used the network but made sure my Virtual Private Network (VPN) was running first. If a public network asks for information you don’t think it needs, that’s a good time to be cautious.

If a public network asks for information you don’t think it needs to sign in, that’s a good time to be cautious.

A VPN is a service that creates a secure, encrypted connection between your device and the internet. When you connect to a VPN, your internet traffic is routed through a server operated by the VPN provider rather than going directly to its destination, and it’s wrapped in encryption so that anyone trying to intercept it — your internet service provider, someone on public WiFi, or a hacker on the same network — only sees scrambled data instead of your actual browsing activity. You have to connect to the Internet through the VPN installed on your device. (Cost for a VPN runs a few dollars per month.)

To make sure you use a reliable VPN, which is very important for obvious reasons, you can check out reviews, like this one in Forbes or this one in Cybernews.

Verify. Verify. Verify.

If there’s one lesson I’d like every traveler to remember, it’s this rule above.

Cybercriminals rely on urgency. They want you to click first and think later.

If you receive a text saying your flight has changed, verify it through the airline’s app. If your bank emails asking you to log in, open the bank’s official website or app yourself instead of clicking the link. If a hotel sends you a payment request, call them using a published phone number if something seems unusual.

The few extra minutes it takes to verify something is legitimate are almost always a better investment than the weeks, months, or even years it can take to recover from identity theft or financial fraud.

Protect Your Phone

Never leave your phone sitting on a restaurant table, charging station, or airport seat, even for a moment.

More importantly, keep a firm grip on it while walking in busy areas. Phone-snatch thefts are common in many cities, with thieves grabbing devices from people’s hands while riding bicycles or scooters.

If practical, use a wrist strap or lanyard. It may not be glamorous, but neither is spending your vacation trying to remotely wipe your phone from a hotel computer.

Your phone should also have a strong passcode—not your birthday, anniversary, or a simple number sequence.

Your phone should also have a strong passcode—not your birthday, anniversary, or a simple number sequence.

Enable biometric authentication, such as Face ID or a fingerprint reader, whenever possible. These features use something unique to you rather than just a PIN, making it much harder for someone else to unlock your device.

Many websites now also support passkeys, which are even more secure than traditional passwords. Instead of typing a password that could be stolen or tricked out of you through a fake website, your device securely authenticates you using your fingerprint, face, or device PIN.

Protect Your Money

Many travelers carry a debit card connected directly to their primary checking account.

Consider limiting your risk by keeping only enough money in that account to cover your immediate expenses—perhaps $500 or so. Keep the rest in savings or another account that’s not directly linked to the card.

If you need more spending money, simply transfer funds using your banking app while connected to a trusted network. If your debit card is compromised, you’ve limited how much money a thief can access.

Think Before You Share

One of the biggest travel security mistakes has nothing to do with hackers.

It’s social media.

Posting vacation photos while you’re still away tells the world that your home may be empty. Consider waiting until you’ve returned before sharing your adventures.

Also pay attention to what’s visible in your photos. House numbers, specific addresses, hotel room numbers, boarding passes, luggage tags, passports, and street signs can reveal far more personal information than you realize.

A quick glance at the background before posting can protect both your privacy and your home. Besides, everyone can wait a few days to find out you had a fabulous time in Paris.

If Something Goes Wrong

Warning signs of a compromised account include unexpected password reset emails, login notifications, unexplained banking activity, or multi-factor authentication prompts you didn’t initiate.

Carry a backup payment method in a separate location.

If you suspect you’ve been compromised, disconnect from the network you’re using, change important passwords from a trusted connection, contact your bank immediately, and lock or freeze affected payment cards. If your phone is stolen, use its remote lock or remote wipe feature as soon as possible.

Before traveling, make sure those features are already enabled and carry a backup payment method in a separate location. Having options can turn a crisis into an inconvenience.

A Few Extra Minutes Can Save Months of Trouble

None of these precautions are meant to make travel stressful. Quite the opposite—they help ensure your memories are of the places you visited, not the problems you spent months untangling after you got home.

The best protection is taking a moment to slow down.

Technology has made travel easier than ever, but it has also made our phones and online identities incredibly valuable. The best protection isn’t expensive software or advanced technical knowledge. It’s taking a moment to slow down.

Verify the network. Verify the website. Verify the email. Verify the text message.

The few extra moments you spend making sure something is legitimate are almost always a better use of your time than the months—or even years—it can take to recover from identity theft or financial fraud.

So verify, verify, verify—and save the vacation drama for missed trains, questionable menu translations, and figuring out exactly how to fit all those souvenirs into your suitcase.