http://www.thinklikeaspy.com/meeting-planners.php Identity theft speaker and expert John Sileo speaking on this video about hotel privacy and reducing identity theft risk. The professional ID Theft speaker gives keynotes seminars and workshops on personal and business privacy.
One of the most frequent forms of the theft of financial advisor client information happens when a laptop computer is stolen from the advisor. And one of the most common places this happens, ironically, is when the advisor is attending an out-of-town conference or meeting. Instead of lugging the laptop with them to each event, its just easier to leave it back in the hotel room.
But when you ask yourself who is in control of that computer once you have left the room, the answer is full of risk. Of course, its the cleaning staff. Most room service personnel are trustworthy, but you cant bank on that always being the case. With that in mind, I recommended several options to protect the identities on that computer: 1. First of all, use strong passwords and data encryption to protect the data on the notebook computer in case it does disappear. 2. Stop carrying data on your computer that you dont absolutely need. If you dont need to have client information on there, dont put it on in the first place.
3. Carry it with you to the events. Of course, when you set it down during a coffee break, your risk goes back up.
4. Lock the laptop in the room safe. Sometimes they dont fit, so I suggest that you pull the hard drive out of the laptop (which is where all of the identity lives) and place that in the safe.
5. Use the hotel safe. Most hotels will lock up computers for you in their safe. Now you just need confidence that the hotel staff are trustworthy.
6. The option that I liked best (until yesterday) was to place the DO NOT DISTURB sign on my door as I leave each morning so that no one enters my room. True, your room doesnt get cleaned, but you are keeping potential thieves not just from your computer, but from any client documents, passports or intellectual capital that might be in the room. Hiding things is a poor option, as a thief will know every one of those spots by heart.
Unfortunately, when I got back to my hotel room at the Marriott after spending the day in downtown Los Angeles, the cleaning staff had eventually ignored the Do Not Disturb sign and cleaned the room anyway. You should have seen me go after the manager who was on duty. Not only is this a violation of my privacy, it is a violation of hotel policy.
Or is it?
No one on duty yesterday could tell me what the policy is for a room with a Do Not Disturb sign on it. If it hangs all day, are they allowed to enter the room? At this hotel, it would appear so, but absolutely no one could tell me the ACTUAL POLICY. Which means that this is no longer as strong an option as I thought it was. I have stayed in more than 400 hotels over the past few years and this is the first time someone has entered the room when the sign was hanging on the door (that I know of). Luckily, my computer was in the safe and my client files were with me in downtown LA (I like to use layered levels of protection and not just rely on one factor Im a bit paranoid in that way because of what Ive been through). But I need to add a caveat to yesterdays speech: Do Not Disturb signs dont always work. If you are going to use this option, make sure you call down to house keeping and let them know that you dont want your room cleaned or entered.
In the meantime, lock the data up in the safe as much as possible.
visit: http://www.sileo.com/protect-your-laptop-from-identity-theft-while-traveling/ to read more
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Identity Theft Speaker John Sileoby johnsileo1,738 views
good tip
iUploaded 3 years ago