It's a growing cybersecurity known as an Evil Twin Attack that most travelers haven't even heard of.
"Connectivity, Wi-Fi in particular, is almost like air and water. It's a necessity," said Eric Plam, a mobile connectivity expert and President of SIMO.
Plam said so many people connect to free Wi-Fi hot spots, but doing that can pose a lot of dangers - namely from something called an Evil Twin Attack.
Here's how it works: Say you're sitting in a cafe, hotel or at the airport and you connect to a Wi-Fi. You think that Wi-Fi is being offered by the business or airport, but it could be a Wi-Fi hot spot straight from a criminal nearby.
"What you don't know is that your data is being intercepted by a nefarious actor," said Plam.
That actor is someone who is robbing you in broad daylight to profit off your personal information.
And beware, if you rent a car, you need to clear your data before returning it. Make sure you properly delete your data from the infotainment system and unpair your device from Bluetooth or Apple Car Play.
"Your online banking credentials, just one small thing, could be worth up to $100 to somebody on the dark web," he said.
So, how do you know you're connecting to a safe source?
"If you just click on it and you connect, you get Wi-Fi, that's very suspicious right there," he said.
Check for a secure connection when you type in a website address.
"Some web browsers have a little lock, like a padlock that shows that you have a locked connection. Some just simply say 'HTTPS'," Plam added.
The S stands for "secure."
Also consider a low cost VPN, a virtual private network which creates a secure tunnel between your device and the site you're visiting.
You can also set up your own Wi-Fi hot spot by requesting one from your cell phone carrier or by purchasing a hot spot device. You can buy one with unlimited data for about $300.
For more information and instructions on hot to delete your data from your rental vehicle infotainment system an unpair your device from Bluetooth or Apple CarPlay, visit: FleetDefender.com