Travelers can safeguard their personal information during the busy holiday season by understanding data sharing practices and taking proactive steps to protect their privacy.
The holiday travel season is notorious for its stressors, including crowded airports, soaring flight prices, and unexpected itinerary changes. However, many travelers may not realize that their personal data is being collected, shared, and sold every time they book a flight, reserve a hotel, or use a travel app.
As millions of Americans prepare for holiday journeys, the companies that handle their sensitive information—including full names, home addresses, passport details, travel dates, and device data—are sharing this data with third parties. This practice becomes particularly concerning during the holiday rush, as the influx of data creates opportunities for scammers.
Understanding how this data collection works, which companies are the biggest culprits, and what steps travelers can take to protect themselves is essential for a safe holiday experience.
During the holiday season, travel-related data collection peaks. Airlines, hotels, booking platforms, loyalty programs, and travel apps experience significant traffic spikes as travelers search for deals, compare prices, and check for flight updates. Each of these actions generates trackable data points.
Many travelers might assume that their data remains with the airline or hotel, but that is not the case. Most companies share this information with advertisers, analytics firms, data brokers, and a range of unnamed partners. Some even use this data to create profiles that assess how frequently a traveler flies, their spending habits, and whether they are considered a “high-value” target.
This information can easily fall into the hands of scammers, who exploit the heightened stress and urgency that travelers experience during the holidays. With access to personal data, scammers can craft convincing attacks that target individuals at their most vulnerable moments.
Major U.S. airlines, for example, collect not only basic information like names and email addresses but also details about travel companions, payment methods, geolocation, device data, and loyalty program activity. This data is often shared with numerous partners, many of whom become part of the broader data broker ecosystem.
Privacy policies from booking platforms detail the types of information they collect, which can include extensive data categories. For instance, Marriott’s privacy policy outlines over 60 different types of data it gathers from guests. Unfortunately, this extensive data collection has previously led to breaches, such as the exposure of information from over 500 million Marriott guests, which scammers continue to exploit.
Once personal information enters the data ecosystem, scammers can design travel-themed attacks that strike when individuals are least prepared. These attacks are not based on guesswork; scammers already possess critical details such as names, flight itineraries, hotel bookings, and travel dates.
To protect personal information during the holiday season, travelers should take several proactive steps. First, hotels, airlines, and booking sites often provide options for data removal, although these options can be difficult to find within their privacy settings.
Travelers should also disable location permissions for apps that track their movements, even when not in use. On iPhone, users can navigate to Settings, tap Privacy & Security, select Location Services, and adjust permissions for each app. On Android devices, users can access Settings, tap Location, and modify app permissions accordingly.
While stopping new data collection is crucial, it is equally important to address existing data that may already be circulating among data brokers. Travelers can request data removal from numerous sites, but this process can be time-consuming. For a more efficient solution, many opt for data removal services that actively monitor and erase personal information from various websites.
Using an alias email can also help reduce spam and phishing attempts. By creating email aliases that forward messages to a primary address, travelers can manage communications more effectively while protecting their information.
Additionally, travelers should be cautious when using public Wi-Fi networks, especially in airports, as scammers often set up fake hotspots to capture sensitive information. Avoiding these networks when accessing financial accounts is a wise precaution.
As the holiday season approaches, many individuals will be traveling to visit family and friends. However, the increase in travel also correlates with a rise in personal data collection and sharing practices by airlines, hotels, and travel apps, which can be exploited by scammers. Before embarking on holiday travels, taking the time to remove personal data from online brokers can help protect identities and ensure a more secure travel experience.
How do you protect your personal information while traveling during the holidays? Share your tips with us at Cyberguy.com.
Source: Original article