Today, public Wi-Fi has become common all over the world and consumers are connecting to these internet networks assuming they are secure. This assumption has lull consumers into a false sense of security. Internet connection is important for travelers when selecting hotels or resorts. Summer travelers are advised to be cautious due to the variation on free public Wi-Fi hacks that can result in criminals spying on your online activities. When you decide to connect to public Wi-Fi, you are leaving yourself vulnerable to cybercriminals looking for an opportunity to siphon your personal details, bank details or steal your identity.

How does this Wi-Fi hotspot scam work?

Fraudsters create a new free Wi-Fi network with the name of the resort or hotel. This will easily trick you to connect to an unsecured, visible network connection. For the example, assuming you are staying in Travaasa Austin Resort. The resort’s legitimate Wi-Fi for patrons will be “Travaasa Austin Resort Guest” or “Travaasa Austin Guest”. It is not hard to figure out the resort’s Wi-Fi because mostly it is listed on the in-room placard or receipt. However, you might find some networks with almost similar SSID (network) name such as “Travaasa_Austin Free Wi-Fi” or “_Travaasa Austin Hotspot”. Can you trust these connections?

You will find the unsecured connections have been set up by hackers within the range of the resort. When the hackers incorporate the resort’s name or any other similar name, guests or patrons will connect to the unsecured Wi-Fi network.

While connected the hacker can literally monitor your online activities in real-time, especially if you are entering credit card information, bank account passwords, social account login details, etc.

Summer travelers are advised to be cautious due to the variation on free public Wi-Fi hacks that can result in criminals spying on your online activities. When you decide to connect to public Wi-Fi, you are leaving yourself vulnerable to cyber-criminals looking for an opportunity to siphon your personal details, bank details or steal your identity.

What can you do to protect your personal information?

The Internet has become a crucial part of our everyday life and we need to access it virtually all the time, any place. When traveling, the highest percentage like to access public Wi-Fi. Based on the risks associated with using public Wi-Fi – it’s advisable to know how to protect your personal information. Also legitimate or appropriate free Wi-Fi networks can as well make you vulnerable to the risks of public networks.

Here are tips you can consider to protect your personal information on public Wi-Fi hotspots:

1. Install a Virtual Private Network (VPN)

Using a Virtual Private Network is among the best effective methods to guard your personal information when using public Wi-Fi. A VPN re-routes your device’s traffic to a private and encrypted network.

2. Use your cellular network

Assuming you are using your phone or tablet to handle sensitive information such as accessing your banking app, social media or email account, it’s advisable to use your mobile service provider 3G or 4G network. It is important to turn off your device Wi-Fi because most devices automatically connect to Wi-Fi networks over cellular networks. It is recommendable to invest in data plans to eliminate the need to access insecure Wi-Fi hotspots.

3. Avoid exposing your personally identifiable information (PII)

If you are accessing your information over a public Wi-Fi connection, then you are treating it as if it’s not valuable. Anytime you are using public network ensure you don’t touch any PII such as home address, banking information, and social security details.

4. Use SSL connections

In case you don’t have a VPN, you can browse the internet securely by enabling the “Always Use HTTPS” option on your browser for all the websites you access frequently.