During a crisis, there are a lot of things from which people need to be wary. There are also things people can do to make a crisis work for them. If done for all of the right reasons, no one should think of taking advantage of a crisis as a bad thing.
The world is currently mired in a very serious Coronavirus pandemic. Across the US and many other countries throughout the world, people are in lockdown mode. As distasteful as it is, there as a few bad apples out there who are using this opportunity to take advantage of other people. We all need to be aware of this and do what’s necessary to protect ourselves. At the same time, this is a great opportunity to take care of things we have been putting off because of our busy lives.
The travel industry is suffering significant economic damage due to Covid19 related travel bans. You would be well served to use this opportunity to go online and start planning your next trip. When you do, here are three things you can do to stay safe while making your plans online
1. Protect Your Online Identity
While we are taking a forced break from our jobs, the bad guys are busy using this as an opportunity to catch people with their guards down. For instance, hackers are using this as an opportunity to get access to our online identity or disrupt our computer use. They will do this by tying malware to information links related to the Covid19 virus. The information is relevant and tantalizing enough to entice people to click in without considering the source and any possible risk.
Be diligent. More than ever, do not click on information or open emails from sources you do not know. If you’re unsure if a website is malicious in nature, use this COVID-19 scam website checker.
2. Make Sure Your Computer Protection Software is Up to Date
There are times when people get too busy to worry about the details in their lives. One thing many people seem to take for granted is how their computer protection software is working.
While you are locked down at home, this would be a great time to look over your computer and make sure you have ample protection from outside intruders. This would also be a great time to make sure your firewalls are working and sufficient.
3. Use Prepaid Credit Cards to Pay for Travel Reservations
While planning your next trip, you will learn this is the ideal time to be making plans. With the travel industry hurting for travelers, they are offering fantastic deals on air travel and hotel reservations.
In all the excitement of getting good deals, you could be vulnerable to people who are looking to get hold of your banking information. By using prepaid credit cards to cover your reservations, you can limit access to your personal information and financial resources.
As indicated, this is a great opportunity for you to save money on your next trip. The last thing you want to do is put yourself at financial risk while you are making your plans online. If you use the information you have just read from above, you’ll be safe from hackers who would love nothing more than to ruin your travel plans.
