Protecting you and your technology on the rail network

Get safe online

If you use a smartphone, tablet or laptop when travelling on the railway, it's important to know how to protect yourself and your technology.

Never leave your devices unattended
Hold on to your devices when near the platform edge or getting on and off a train
Protect your devices with a PIN code or password

Public Wi-Fi is a convenient and free way to keep up to date on the move and is suitable for general online browsing using your devices.
If you're working on something confidential or sensitive, making online purchases, doing online banking or want your communications to be private, public Wi-Fi isn't the best option. It can't be guaranteed to be completely secure or you could be logged on to a fake network set up by a fraudster. Instead, use 3G or 4G, a mobile broadband dongle or a virtual private network (VPN). Or you could wait until you get home or to the office.

Contactless payments for travel are growing in popularity and a convenient way of paying for your journey. You should exercise caution when using your contactless card or device to make payments and consider investing in a purpose-made wallet for your card to protect your details from being stolen.

When you're travelling on the railway, turn off features such as AirDrop and Bluetooth. This is because they can be used to snoop on your connected device, send inappropriate content to your device or defraud you.

If you're doing something confidential on your phone, tablet or laptop, be aware of what's going on around you, and who's watching.
If you're talking on your phone, be mindful of what people can overhear, for example giving your payment card details over the phone to make a purchase.