Essential tips to protect against scams and stay cyber-secure on Plan for Vacation Day

With low temperatures and snowstorms, everyone dreams of sun-filled days of lounging on a beach somewhere. That’s why the last Tuesday of January reminds Americans to start planning for a fun and relaxing vacation.

This year, Plan for Vacation Day is celebrated on Jan. 30, beckoning avid vacation seekers to meticulously plan for their next holiday.

How you can be a cyber-responsible travel planner

Cybercrooks never take a break from their fraudulent pursuits, regularly targeting unwary vacationers looking for early bird tour packages or travel deals.

Here are Bitdefender’s tips to help you plan your vacations safely and avoid losing money to phony travel deals and other security risks you face while surfing the web:

• Don’t be fooled by too-good-to-be-true travel deals and offers. Research all deals carefully before you take out your credit card. Social media listings and vacation-themed websites are often filled with fake reviews and comments from scammers.
• Stick to holiday platforms and travel operators you know and trust for shopping for your holiday shopping.
• Scrutinize unsolicited travel-themed correspondence including freebies, surveys and unusually cheap airplane tickets you may receive in your inbox. Cybercriminals frequently deploy phishing campaigns promising you great deals or ask you to fill out bogus surveys for a chance to receive a hefty discount.
• Avoid making wire transfers when paying for your vacation or trip. Requests for crypto payments should be avoided at all times.
• Always take time to inspect the fine print for any travel-related purchase before committing to your booking.
• Use a security solution on your devices to block phishing attempts and fraudulent websites you may unwittingly access.
• Use a VPN to safeguard your privacy, block snoops from intercepting your internet traffic and potentially unlock cheaper tickets and travel deals.
• Never share sensitive information such as credit card numbers, PINs or your SSN via email, phone or chat. Scammers will always push you into making quick payments to benefit from the best deals.
• Use Bitdefender Scamio to find out if an unsolicited email, ad or message is a scam. You can have a chat with our complimentary scam detection service powered by AI and Bitdefender threat protection, prevention and detection technologies to get a quick verdict on potential fraud attempts heading your way.

Stay safe everyone!