USA Today -- There are plenty of reasons to rent a car, from leaving an unreliable car behind on a vacation to getting around on a business trip. But there's a real hidden danger when doing so that you may not even realize — one that potentially puts you and your family at substantial risk.

Rental companies continually upgrade their fleets with newer-model cars, which means many now have the latest infotainment systems, which let you connect, or "pair," your smartphone via Bluetooth with the car. This lets you take calls over the car's audio system, dial from the center console, get directions or stream your music. Others include a USB connection so you can do all that and charge your phone.

When you connect your gadget to a car with Bluetooth, the car stores your phone number to make it easier to connect later. It also stores your call logs, including any contacts you dialed. Just one problem: All that information is saved inside the system and just sitting around for the next renter to find.

First, we all know that returning a rental car usually happens at the last moment. You're in a hurry and the flight won't wait for you. But give yourself an extra 10 minutes to remove your personal data from the car.

Simply go into the car's settings (it will vary for every car make and model) and locate your smartphone from the list of previously paired Bluetooth gadgets. There should be an option to delete your phone. That should wipe the call logs and saved contacts. Better yet, look for an option to clear all user data or do a complete factory reset. Talk to the employees at the car rental place if you can't find these options.

Read the rest of the story here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/komando/2015/07/03/komando-car-rental-mistakes/29614165/