When you plan to travel abroad you must take actions, “Before you go” as well as “During your stay” and also “On your return”.
Here are the most important actions you must take care of:
A) Before you go
Money & ID matters
Make two photocopies of your Passport, ID card, Drivers License, Credit Cards, and Airline or Sea Tickets. Also note your Laptop and Mobile phone S/Ns etc id numbers and characteristics so can identified in case found after lost. Keep one copy in your home and the other in your suitcase not near your valuables.
Do NOT take with you, all your credit cards, Social security card but only the necessary ones. Do not keep all cards or valuables in one place but in two places.
Better take with you an old mobile phone or old laptop without important data on them like passwords, you may just want to access with this laptop your bank account over the internet, but only in secure places like your hotel, but not in internet cafes.
After contact your Bank saying you plan to travel in the particular country for any advice tips has and can give. Ask in case of lost or theft of money possessions like cards or cash how to cancel and how to replace them anywhere in the places you plan to travel taking all possibilities. Learn phone numbers or web sites you can disable cards in case of lost or order new ones along with cash. Keep these along photocopies above and on your mobile phone. Also keep emergency numbers in the visited country like Hospital, Police, Fire, Hotel, Taxis, and your embassy of course.
Country profile
First read country profile, and learn about laws & customs, criminality, maps, transport routes, internet criminality, and recent news. All can found online.
General
Also it is good if, in a country where English is spoken in a small scale, to learn some local language words/phrases and bring with you a Language-to-Language Dialogs pocket-book, this could be used anywhere in your trip.
Laptop & Mobile Phone (wifi/3G/Roaming)
Find out on your trip places and stays where could you have safe internet connection (May for internet banking) and also arrange with your cellular and internet provider in your home country, roaming costs and plans for the visited country. You may consider buying a Roaming Data plan for your internet connections, for one month from your cellular provider.
Notify some family members or some friends only of your trip, and say for example if not on the phone every 2-3 days something happened.
B) During your stay
Hotel
While you are going out of your hotel get with you 2 credit cards and some cash only, rest leave the in hotel safe along with all other ID materials. Keep the pre-referred photocopies in your suitcase.
Lock always the hotel room.
Transportation
Take only authorized taxis.
On trains, trams or buses you may drugged and robbed while sleeping. Avoid long waits in terminals; hence pickpockets, thieves, and violent offenders are common in such areas.
Laptop theft is common in Airports.
Laptop & Mobile Phone (wifi/3G/Roaming)
Use wifi or Ethernet internet connection of your Hotel, but not in internet cafes hence they are more secure. Bad guys may compromise your connection at times and steal private info or install malware in your laptop.
Do not attach Devices in your laptop like USB memory sticks.
Do Logon to company network only from company’s laptop.
If you lost your Laptop or/and Mobile Phone immediately report it, to local authorities and to your consulate with your photocopies and ID numbers.
Money Matters
If you lose your wallet (all or part of your possessions) immediately report it, to local authorities and to your consulate along provide your photocopies. Also call your bank’s staff for this purpose, so as to cancel credit cards and send replacements to your hotel or consulate.
Before you depart for your home country
Just when everything went ok and ready for departure, in your hotel, compare/check/count all your possessions and ID Documents with photocopies like credit cards, traveler’s checks left, Passport, Driving License. If something is missing notify Authorities or Bank immediately.
C) On your return
On your return compare/check/count all your possessions and ID Documents with photocopies like credit cards, traveler’s checks left, Passport, Driving License. If something is missing notify Authorities or Bank immediately.
Also just on arrival home and too thereafter 1 or 2 months, check your Bank Accounts and credit cards statements online from your online bank account, for any malware activity. If you detected anything, you should contact your bank immediately to cancel the credit card(s).
Links: FBI, travel.state.gov