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Spring break is often high season for thieves

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Spring break is vacation time for many families, but it is prime time for thieves targeting your home, bank accounts and identity.

“Returning to find your house vandalized, computer hacked or bank accounts compromised are the last things you want to welcome you home from vacation,” explains Jeff Schwartz at Consolidated Credit Counselling Services of Canada.

Protect your money

“One of the most important things we suggest is to make sure your credit card companies know that you will be using your credit card abroad or outside your normal spending places so it’s not looked upon as someone has stolen your credit card.”

If you don’t, you risk your card being declined at an inopportune time, far from home.

“Absolutely, they can decline a charge right there… if they feel it could be fraudulent,” notes Schwartz. “They may have all sorts of risk profiles as to what kinds of charges potentially could be fraudulent.”

The criteria for a red-flag can vary.

“Maybe it’s something to do with the merchant, maybe it’s something to do with the city you’re in or even the type of charge. The credit card companies look at what you normally spend on and how much and if it is outside of that they can do any number of things, including declining the charge,” he says.

Protect your home

When it comes to protecting your home while you are on vacation, Schwartz suggests you start with your mail.  “This is probably the most important one, whether it’s asking a neighbour to collect your mail or calling Canada Post to have them stop your mail.”

“If you have an overflowing mailbox, it is a sure sign to anyone casing your house that you are away,” he explains. Mail theft also increases the risk of identity theft.

“It’s also probably a good idea to let your home alarm monitoring company know you’ll be gone. Most of the time, they will call you to see if everything is okay if there’s a false alarm. If they know you’re away and the alarm is going off, they may react a little bit quicker,” notes Schwartz.

Online safety

Online banking while on vacation can also carry risks, especially if you use a public computer.

 “You want to make sure you are signing out of all your websites,” warns Schwartz. “You really want to make sure you are terminating those connections so that a passerby or someone who going to use the computer after you doesn’t have access to those connections and into your banking system.”

If you travel with your computer, have it password-protected and lock it the minute you leave it. Consolidated Credit offers a more tips in a free download.

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