Buying festival or gig tickets online? The security experts at Kaspersky Lab have put together a simple guide to help people take the right steps to ensure tickets are bought securely, as well as how to safeguard themselves at the event – so nothing gets in the way of having a great time.
1) If you have not yet booked your tickets make sure you buy from a reputable and legitimate source online. Watch out for phishing emails in your Inbox offering you the exclusive chance to buy tickets to festivals that may have been sold-out months ago. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
2) Travel light and take only what you need.
3) Crowded areas (particularly in busy market and bar areas and around the front of the stage) are the ideal location for opportunist pickpockets and organised criminal gangs, so keep your mobile phone and other valuable items secure and close to you at all times.
4) Take the SIM card from your smartphone and put it in an old pay-as-you go handset with the minimum credit you will need to last you through the festival. If your phone is then misplaced or stolen then the loss will be much less. If you don’t have an old handset, think about buying a cheap basic mobile phone.
5) If you do want to use your smartphone to take photos and videos, then ensure it is well protected with a solution such as Kaspersky Mobile Security 9 (£19.99). The software enables the owner of the mobile phone to remotely block the handset and wipe the data if it is lost or stolen, by simply sending a predefined SMS to the phone. The first thing a thief normally does is to remove the SIM card. However, should they attempt to do this Kaspersky Mobile Security 9 will immediately block the device.
6) If you are taking your children with you, or this is the first time they are going alone, having GPS installed on their mobile phones can help you to pinpoint exactly where they are if you get separated from them in the crowd, or want to ensure they are where they said they would be.
7) Finally, don’t forget to pack an extra battery and a solar charger.