Travel Safety Tips From the Pros: CIA Share Tricks to Stay Safe

Last updated Jan 5, 2018

Some of these tips sound somewhat Bond-like, but these travel safety tips from the pros reveal the CIA’s tricks to stay safe. The holiday season is the busiest time of year, but these travel hacks will keep you and your loved ones out of harm’s reach anytime you’re traveling.

Social Media

We all know how much we want to share a moment-by-moment update of our trips on social media, but save the onslaught of photos and details of your experience for when you return home. By giving a real-time update of the mouthwatering lobster roll you’re eating at Yankee Lobster, you are letting everyone know several things…

1. You’re not at home and that your house is an easy target for thieves.
2. You’re giving out your exact location and the fact you are a tourist, which can equal a very dangerous situation.

Save the photos, tweets, and details for a post-trip recap to protect your whereabouts and remove the target from your back.

Hotel Room Safety

When you are packing for your adventure, don’t forget a rubber doorstop. According to a member of the CIA, it can be a lifesaver. Wedge the doorstop under the door while you sleep. Don’t rely solely on the deadbolt or latch. In a pinch, wedge the door shut with a fork from you can score from room service. Flip it over and slide it under the door, to become a DIY stopper.

Passport

It should go without saying, but leave your passport in your hotel room safe deposit box. You shouldn’t need to carry it around unless you are in a very remote country. Do some research on the area to find out if it is absolutely necessary to carry it. If not, lock it up. “In more than 20 years of traveling, I have never heard of anyone whose passport was stolen from their hotel room. I have heard myriad stories of passports lost or stolen on the street,” Matthew Bradley, a 14-year veteran of the CIA who’s now regional security director of Americas for International SOS, explained to CNT.

Stay Connect With Friends or Family

Instead of tweeting a pic of your lobster roll, take the time to check in with a friends or family via text or phone. Provide at least one of your pals or parents with an itinerary of where you’ll be and when. Maybe employee a secret word you can use to prove you are really you to ensure a thief doesn’t scam your concerned loved one. It’s not uncommon for “the bad guys” to get crafty and makeup stories about how you’ve been in a terrible crash and need money for an emergency. Another story is that you’ve been arrested and you’re in desperate need of bail money. Another avenue is the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program or STEP. It’s a free service for Americans to register their trip and get updates on any threatening situation.

Do you have any travel safety tips you have found effective?

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