Protecting Yourself While Traveling – Tips to Keep you Safe

When Traveling and going to the Airport, it is very important to keep yourself protected and safe at all times and I have the advice, tips and ways to protect yourself and your identity, as it is easy to obtain your information from your luggage contact tags. Here are ways you can protect yourself:

1. Never ever keep your baggage tags visible with your contact information sticking out for people to see. Always tuck in your contact information such as your phone number, e-mail, home address. Purchase Bright coloured tags, but like a sleeve pocket that is not invisible. Unfortunately You will be surprised on how much crime is committed and how many identities have been stolen in the past and possibly until now. So keep your information tucked in.

2. A lot of bags now are similar in colour, sizes, and can easily be taken by mistake by another passenger, make sure you have tags that you know and are aware of what bags are yours, or buy baggage that is a different colour. We now see a lot of black, brown, navy blue, red, and dark purple bags, but get out from the ordinary and get something that you will identify quickly.

3. Make sure that you print and put your contact information inside the baggage too in case your luggage information tag falls out. Heaven forbid if your baggage gets lost or is left behind at an airport and did not make it to the plane, they can identify who’s bag it is and will contact you.

4. Always make sure you jot down the make of your baggage, the size, colour, contents, and write down the description of all your travel baggages on paper so that in case if it gets lost or left behind hopefully not, you can go to baggage claim department at the airport or you can directly contact the airline and quickly give in the information without struggling to figure it out. They will give you a number of your baggage on a white sticker paper and will put one on the baggage so that they can locate the bag in the destination that it was lost in.

5. Never ever leave your baggage and personal belongings unattended before going to the airport, at the airport, and on your return flight and arrival. When you go to the washroom, take it inside the stall with you, when you are going around the shops, always keep one hand on your bag, never ever leave your bag behind you, unless when it has wheels that you wheel it with you when you are going to the gate or where ever at the airport. – Someone can easily put something in it or steal your bag.

6. After checking in for your flight at the airport, have your carry on luggage locked until you head to the security screening, and then after going through security always lock your carry-on luggage to protect your belongings. If you have a carry on purse only, this does not apply to you, but those who just have wheeled carry on bags.

7. When boarding your plane, make sure that your carry on baggage is visible to you when you put it up on the overhead compartment of the plane and remember where you put it, so that you can keep an eye on it in case somebody else mistakenly takes it after landing to the destination.

8. Never ever accept any closed or sealed packages or bags to deliver because you never know what is inside. Then you can be fined, charged, and commit a crime unknowingly, then you can say goodbye to your traveling days. Always ask the person, and open it for yourself. Better yet, do not even bother. If that person wants that stuff delivered, let them do so by a courier company or let that person deliver it themselves. Never accept the responsibility of taking someone elses stuff unless you see it for your own eyes and make sure that it is accepted by security and customs by doing research online.

9. Never keep your carry on baggage, purses, or personal items open. Always zip up your bags. Keep wallets, travel insurance documents, tickets and passports in the depths of your bag, but keep them together so that it takes only couple of seconds to get out from your bag, but never keep your passports and tickets on top of your bags and where its easy to be taken away. especially if you have money visible. Always keep that separate.

10. If you see or feel that anything is suspicious with a passenger or see something not right, right away tell your flight attendant, airport ground employees, security or whoever. Your name and yourself will be kept confidential. The eye in the sky will also monitor as well.

11. If you do fall asleep while at the gate waiting for your flight, always have your hands and your feet on your carry on baggage at all times especially if it is just you who is traveling and nobody else is with you, so that if you do feel like its being touched or something, you will wake up.

12. If some things are of great value to you, and if you have an emotional attachment to it, do not pack them in your carry on. best to keep it at home. Best bet is, do not bring valuables with you and expensive real jewelery with you or things that cost you a lot of money. Do not buy expensive carry on baggage or handbags or even your checked baggage.

13. Never pack medication, laptops, camera’s, small electronics in your checked baggage.

That is it, have a safe and great flight, but always keep in mind these tips to keep you safe and protected. It is very important. Also in daily life when you go out, always protect yourself and take extra measures to keep you and your personal belongings safe.