You’re just settling down in your hotel room when the phone rings. The caller says the hotel computer has crashed, and to redo the paperwork, they need you to give your credit card number immediately.

Do not comply! Hang up and call the front desk for confirmation. You may find it was a scam to hack your bank or credit card account. This is a growing illegal business originating in China, Africa and the Middle East. Some of the phony calls originate from prisons where the inmates work from smuggled cell phones.

Rooms full of callers work the phones constantly with the phony messages. When they succeed in getting IDs, they’re able to quickly hack the bank accounts and make illegal withdrawals before the owners can react.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of retirement is the freedom to travel anywhere at any time. When making plans, here are a few ideas.

Pricing: Seek out the best deals. Prices can vary greatly according to season, destinations and many other factors. As with resort hotels, cruise billings are based during the year on what are called high, shoulder, and low seasons.

For warm destinations like the Caribbean or Hawaii, high season is December thru April. For European cruises, high season is summer. High season cruises are more expensive. Low season is cheaper, but weather is a factor. Any popular vacation period (Christmas, New Year's Eve, Spring Break) brings heavy demand and higher pricing.

Sage advice from a seasoned reader who still flies at least once a month: When I started flying 40 years ago, there wasn’t much I could do to fight boredom in the airport when my flight was delayed.

I couldn’t haul my heavy MacPlus desktop along on the trip, so this frequent flyer had to pass the time doing crosswords, hang around the magazine rack, buy a paperback or watch small-screen TV in the airport bar.

Today, the the delays and waits are still as frustrating, but there are choices from scores of portable and inexpensive electronic gizmos to bring along to help pass the time.

When seniors venture into foreign countries, they hope for happy times. Unfortunately, unhappy challenges may happen. It could be illness from tainted food, bad weather, pickpockets, accidents, political unrest and other unexpected interruptions.

For protection, always be prepared to contact nearby branches of the U.S. State Department in case emergency help is needed. While in a foreign country, always have phone number, website and street addresses of the closest U.S. consulate or embassy.

Additionally, carry all applicable private travel insurance ID cards, other required info and medications. Be aware that some U.S. government insurance plans, such as basic Medicare, may not pay for all instances of emergency treatment abroad.

Further, before the next trip to a foreign destination, contact your travel pro and insurance agent to be sure you have all possible travel health and other coverages in effect. For more info, go to travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/go/health.html#healthy