Traveling continues to be growing back from the pandemic time. It is smart to plan ahead, being careful when your family members and coworkers go on vacation with bad actors looking to profit via scams. A couple paths they will take to acquire money if they know an individual is on vacation is kidnapping or emergency request for money scams. I wont get into the kidnapping element, remind your folks to be mindful of where they are at and the element they are with. For a scam, you need to be sure you know it’s really the person you know who is in trouble and not a scammer, you should set up a way to check. 

If you’re looking for an AI solution since most of my recents posts are about AI, that isn’t here. Though, the following should help you if a bad actor is trying to scam you using a deep fake to mimic the traveler’s voice.

First, pick a secret word or phrase that only you, and they know. This should be a word that’s not easy for others to guess or find out. I actually like to use a conversation, or at least a couple lines dealing with a subject so that someone overhearing an early key phrase can just repeat that. This could be several back and forths that must include the weather tied into the sunny weather and the key word in that exchange. Rather than “state your keyword”.  

Next, depending on the relationship and location of travel, agree on times when they will tell you or their family that they’re okay. They could use a secure text app, email, or call to do this. It’s also a good idea to use apps that keep messages safe, like WhatsApp, Signal, or Telegram. These apps make it hard for scammers to sneak into the conversation.

It’s also smart to have important phone numbers ready, both you and the traveler should have  the local embassy or emergency numbers for the place they’re visiting. They should be careful about who they tell their travel plans to, especially on social media, because scammers will use that to convince you that they are your coworker or family member. Some folks will roll their eyes at you, but it is worth it to explain or send them links to posts for common tricks scammers use when people travel. An often forgotten planning item is a backup plan, what to do if they lose their phone, like how to reach them or they reach you in other ways.

Knowing who they are traveling with can also help. Get the full names and basic info about these people, like if they’re friends or family. It’s good to have their phone numbers or email too. Sometimes you might need to talk to these travel buddies directly, especially if something happens to them that affects the person you know.

Remember to respect everyone’s privacy and only share this info for safety. Travel friends should feel comfortable sharing their details for this reason. Having their travel plans, like where they’re staying, is also useful. Keep this information safe and only let people who really need it have it. Tell the travel buddies about your secret safety check too, in case they need to use it. They may be less careful so secret words or phrases should be their own, not the one you agreed to use with your family member or coworker.

If anyone in the group changes their travel plans., make sure to update this information. This way, you’ll always be ready to help if something goes wrong.

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