You might be one of the most well-traveled, safety-minded people in the world, but travelers especially are at a risk of getting hacked, your identity stolen and potentially Find Hotels for 18+ falling for clever scams.As a former IT technician, I like to think I’m pretty “up there” in terms of tech-savviness. But I was utterly confounded when I received an unexpected PayPal invoice from a company I have done business with in the past.

Turns out, it was a fake invoice, sent via PayPal, using that company’s name. And I’m not ashamed to admit that I almost paid it.Scammers and hackers are getting smarter these days. Scaring you off isn’t my intention, but it helps to be knowledgeable about digital security. Here, I’ve laid out some of my most effective tips for ways you can keep your privacy safe while traveling, starting with the most basic.

1. Use Two-Factor Authentication 

This is the easiest to implement and is going to provide the largest amount of protection for the smallest amount of effort.

Two-Factor Authentication, a.k.a. Multi-Factor Authentication (2FA or MFA), requires that you receive a one-time code via text message, email or a secure authentication app like Google Authenticator. This gives you an extra layer of protection on top of your password.

Whenever possible, you should enable two-factor authentication on your accounts.

It’s important to know that security questions are not a good safety measure. Security questions can often be a liability, because they’re easy for hackers to figure out. Your mother’s maiden name isn’t such a secret, and someone could probably find your first cat’s name from an old Facebook post.

Another, more secure version of MFA is a hardware authenticator like a YubiKey, which requires that you plug in a small USB drive in order to verify that it’s you. Just don’t lose it!

2. Protect Your Privacy With a VPN

The concept of a virtual private network (VPN) might seem daunting at first, but it’s actually quite simple. A VPN protects your privacy by routing your internet traffic through a secure data “tunnel.” It also encrypts the traffic, making it unreadable to anyone who does find a way to access that tunnel.

On top of that, a VPN will shield your critical data, such as login credentials (usernames and passwords), banking information, and credit card details. Even if a hacker finds their way into your connection, they would only see gibberish instead of actual data.

The Bitdefender VPN is one of the best-priced options on the market, providing a super secure connection at an incredibly reasonably price. A VPN can also help you access blocked websites (depending on the country you’re visiting), VoIP services, and streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime.