The madness that is the annual SXSW conference begins this week, and with it comes thousands of people, some of whom will be opportunistic criminals seeking to steal easy-to-grab items such as wallets and phones from unsuspecting attendees. But you can prepare yourself now so you can fully immerse yourself in the experience without worry.
In addition to practical advice such as writing down the serial numbers for all the electronic devices you’ll be toting around and installing tracking software on them, there are other simple ways to protect yourself — and your belongings — at conferences and conventions.
Of course, the simplest way to avoid one of the most common types of theft is to keep smaller items such as phones, keys and wallets on your person at all times. But for those instances when you need to be unencumbered — maybe you’re presenting to a packed conference room or boogying down on the dance floor — you might want to consider a portable, relatively inexpensive lockbox just big enough to fit your credit cards, cash, keys and phone.
The Master Lock 5900D is portable enough to lug around a conference all day, but heavy-duty enough to deter would-be thieves.
It’s important to remember that criminals and competitors see these large conferences as prime opportunities to steal — whether it’s information or your electronic devices. Threat Stack offered up several tips to keep you, your valuables and your business safe when attending conventions and conferences, including:
- implementing strong passwords;
- setting up auto-lock on all electronic devices;
- avoiding unsecured public Wi-Fi networks;
- being extremely careful about what you post on social media, especially photos;
- and remaining hyper-aware of what you discuss about your business in public, where someone nearby could easily eavesdrop.
Of course, these security tips aren’t only for conferences and conventions. If you’re a serial coffee shop worker, the portable lock box can keep your smaller valuables safe during those inevitable bathroom breaks when there’s not a trustworthy person around to ask to “keep an eye on” your stuff.
And if you’re worried about bigger items such as your laptop, there are affordable security solutions for those, too.
Staff Writer, Krystal Hagan holds a bachelor of journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. She lives the full-time RV life just outside Austin, Texas, with her musician partner, three dogs, and a six-toed cat. In her free time, she binges TV shows, brandishes her otherwise useless pop-culture knowledge at trivia nights, and tries to become BFFs with every animal she meets.
