Thinking Contingencies: Mobile Phone

(Not happened, just thinking)
Over the lasy tear my bank has started texting me OTPs when I top-up my pre-paid travel debit card; if my credit card thinks a transaction suspicious they'll text me "... was this you. Reply YES if it was you" and on sending will block the entire card until they get a reply; etc.

So a mobile is increasingly crucial but also easily stolen (pick pockets, mugging, etc.)

For passport loss, card theft, etc one has backup plans but phone contingency seems more problematic. I can tell bank of a new number but one of my cards you phone them and it's a minimum 1 hr wait to dpeak to somebody.

Skype doesn't support texts unless you use a US number. VOIP with text support (so you don't meed a SIM with the same number). Just use a local SIM and call banks & card companies to change number? (certainly one of my UK cards is happy using overseas numbers) but local SIM is getting harder to get in many countries.

Just wondering is others have any thoughts or planning.

Ian

I think the main contingency is to have multiple options for paying.

The reliance on phone numbers for security is fairly fraught - firstly a problem if you're overseas and are just using a local number. Also a problem because the telcos often don't have the best security practices and people have often found their phone number has been ported away from them by a scammer.

Some banks have different verification modes and maybe it's worth having funds in at least one account that uses those systems instead. I have one bank that verifies transactions / logins via your thumbprint on your phone for example.

I imagine there are others that tie in to 3rd party authenticator apps which are not reliant on your phone number then. None of my bank accounts work that way at this point unfortunately.

Sorry, no real answers, just a bunch of rambling thoughts - but I agree it's a problem worth considering.

I have two mobile phones when I travel, one as backup. There are companies that sell country-specific, regional or global eSIMs, so it's not necessary to buy on arrival. I use Google Fi on my Android phones. It's only available to U.S. residents and it works in 200+ countries and territories. The catch is that it's for short-term use of around 90 days. After that, phone and text messages still work, but data does not, until after you return to the U.S.

Many of my accounts, such as those for banking, require a thumbprint for access. Some have voice or facial recognition.

I have a laptop while traveling so I also can use it to communicate.

In a pinch you can ask someone to borrow their phone or computer.

Finally, I have digital wallets on my phones. I lost a credit card on a trip last year; called the bank; it canceled the old card and issued a new one that immediately was available for use on Google Wallet.

Quoting berner256

...
Many of my accounts, such as those for banking, require a thumbprint for access. Some have voice or facial recognition.

I have a laptop while traveling so I also can use it to communicate.

In a pinch you can ask someone to borrow their phone or computer.

Finally, I have digital wallets on my phones. I lost a credit card on a trip last year; called the bank; it canceled the old card and issued a new one that immediately was available for use on Google Wallet.

Interesting to hear what others do.

When I travel I disable face recognition as it's too easy for somebody to take your phone and point it at your face. Your face will be recognised whoever is holding the phone (and I have the phone set to wipe itself after 10 incorrect PIN entries).

Being an ex-software engineer I get a bit paranoid about online security and part of that is I don't do any online banking and nothing financial (I even once got a "gesture of goodwill" after I refused to setup card security over (un-encrypted) e-mail after pointing out the security weakness of what they were asking).

I do have Apple Wallet but have found it unreliable overseas. Probably nothing to do with Apple Wallet but rather the card. I'm/my cards are UK based and I have had Apple Wallet reject a transactions even in France, though for small amounts it seems fairly reliable eg problems have been on purchases over £100 (US$130).

I am still uncertain about the 2FA system given that so much is done on phones and the 2nd FA of the 2FA is also done to the same phone so with just a phone you have access to both parts of the 2FA (I can see it's benefits when remote hacker is trying to break-in but lose your phone and thief has access to both parts of the 2FA.

Envisaging bad scenarios when travelling I feel worst complete disaster are travelling between cities when you have backpack and everything with you so if you're mugged everything can be lost in one incident.

Also I stay in fairly low end hostels/hotels (though mostly private rooms rather than dorms) but I don't leave valuables at reception as seems often that is just putting those valuable on a shelf below the counter at an often unattended desk. Similarly one hostel on one occasion on 3rd day chatting and apparently that day they'd sacked one staff member for "dishonesty".

Ian

When I have had a credit card refused, I can call my credit union on an 800 number to get them to reinstate it (and tell me why it was refused - often because the credit card machine does not work and they have typed in the wrong expiration date or something)

I don't bank at a bank - all our money is in credit unions. They have been very rsponsivein the past for problems. I don't know if this is different from the way banks do it.

And I also have a laptop which I take with me when I travel. I figure if I already have a scooter, I am not traveling light, so I might as well have something I can type on with both hands instead of trying to do it on a phone.

But my husband is a luddite - I have only recently gotten him a smart phone - until 2 years ago he had only an old flip phone. His phone isn't an iPhone - it is a brand specially for old people. And it has taken me about a year to get him to take the phone with him when he goes shopping and for him to figure out that it is ringing. (He's 88 and a little deaf.) Our house phone is stil a landline and if you can text on it, I don't know how.

The reason I have had to get him to pay attention to his phone is that in Feb 2022, I fell in the shower at the pool, and it was only because I had my phone with me that I was able to get help. I didn't normally carry it or use it except to make calls or to use the GPS when we were traveling. After the fall, first my left foot and then my right foot got paralyzed and so I wanted to be able to contact him if I needed help. I started using my phone more the way younger people do it these days. I have managed to figure out how to access my bank account on my phone if I have to, and can even sometimes go to my email or messages to get a confirmation number. But it is way easier on the laptop.

I don't have Google Wallet, and I don't have a password system. I have to remember all my passwords and since I can't really do that, I have to go to the computer to log on to websites anyway if I don't remember the password for the phone access. My browsers on the computer do remember the passwords, but I also have a tiny text file with them in it. I think it unlikely that anyone would take my computer and look at that little text file to get my passwords - that is far too much trouble to go to when the browser has saved the passwords. My computer is set up for facial recognition (and so is my phone) but I don't have a lot of faith in that as a form of security. Plus when I die I want my children to be able to get into my acounts.

[ Edit: Edited on 9 Sep 2024, 10:19 GMT by greatgrandmaR ]

I think the main contingency is to have multiple options for paying.

So true. I always carry backup credit and debit cards, including a pair with my passport, my most valuable possession while traveling. It's always in a secure place. I also have cash (usually U.S. dollars and/or euros), some stored with the passport.

Banks and credit unions can limit how much you can withdraw from an automated teller machine. I set the limit at no more than US$2,000 daily (to cover emergencies). The bank I use while traveling does not have any fees. It rebates ATM fees charged by other banks. After withdrawing money, the bank's app instantly confirms the transaction and tells me how much was withdrawn, allowing me to calculate the exchange rate. This has worked well for years across the globe.

Friends and family know where I'll be and, if necessary, can wire funds.

In more than 50 years of travel I have only been robbed and successfully pickpocketed three times: In a Paris youth hostel on my first trip around the world; in a remote border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan; and in rural China. I'm always aware of my surroundings. Safety and security, including health, is top of mind.

GreatgrandmaR

"But my husband is a luddite - I have only recently gotten him a smart phone - until 2 years ago he had only an old flip phone."

-

Had to laugh at your post, I am a younger version of your husband!

I hate cell phones and also have the cheapest one I can get. Although I do not leave the house without it. And I only talk on it. I hate seeing people jabbering away on phones when driving, if my phone rings then I ignore it!

I do computers okay. Have old ones that still work for data and word processing but not safe online. I do have a couple fairly new laptops. One is a 10 inch netbook. I travel with that netbook when overseas or out of my home area. At home, I use my netbook as a backup computer. I use the bigger laptop for checking bank balances and contacting people , etc. For my bank accounts, and some other accounts, email verification works pretty good - so far!

None of my devices have fingerprint readers. I cover over the camera lens thing on my laptops. Never needed (or wanted) to use it. Could be a problem in the future with some of my email providers and bank/credit union accounts. (Cross that bridge when I have to!)

I don't have google wallet (or similar), I pay only with card or cash. So no problem there, but I had some phone-related issue on our last trip..
We dared (just joking ) to wonder outside of EU where our own internet didn't work. We used our accommodations wi-fi and when on the go, we didn't need it. Mostly. We had two different place rented and both of those places wanted that we notified them 1 hour in advance when we would be arriving so they could come to give the keys.
I told both of those places that I would notify them via SMS becouse doe to lack of internet neither Whatsapp nor Booking.com App wouldn't work.
First place was ok, they just didn't never text me back, but second place there were no-one there..After waiting I had to call them and they had tried to reach me via Whatsapp...Long story short we got our keys but it got me thinking how much we have become to rely on internet...