That’s the first I’ve heard of hotel-room theft, too.
Pickpocketing is common. I’ve had stuff stolen from a locked car. Random stuff that’s not tied down walking away from you at a restaurant, etc., hell yes, that happens. But I’ve never worried about the safety of stuff in a hotel room. And at an airport, I assume all the bad actors have a TSA master key.
I’m really careful with my passport, my phone, and my credit cards when I travel. Most of that stays on my person, in a hard-to-get-at place. (and not all in the same place, fwiw.) On the flight, as well as the rest of the trip. Anything else valuable stays in the hotel room. I don’t see the point of “TSA approved locks”. A box-cutter will readily open any of my suitcases if you don’t care that I’ll notice the damage.
That steel cable web looks like it could be useful for someone whose travel style is different from mine, though.
A lot of people would notice if someone tried that on a train, though, whereas many don’t seem to notice hands sliding into compartments. A friend had 500€ swiped from her no-lock waist pack when some helpful young women helped her lift her suitcase onto a train.
I don’t think the TSA locks have anything to do with preventing pickpocketing. They’re just to allow the authorities to examine the contents of your checked luggage while securing it from casual thieves.
Any lock prevents someone from reaching into your bag. It doesn’t need to be TSA. I use TSA because if I need to lock something to check it I have a spare should that lock have been lost, broken, or an additional bag acquired while traveling. Any luggage lock protects your on-body bags from pilfering; bags with wire mesh panels and cables prevent easy slashing.
It actually isn’t a ‘TSA symbol’; it is a trademark of company called Travel Sentry which received an exclusive contract with the the Department of Homeland Security though an extremely sketchy sole source contract to provide the locking system that could be opened by TSA officials. They have since licensed out this design (which is, oddly, not patented) and the trademarked logo to other lock and luggage makers. And, as previously noted, master keys for all of the TSA lock configurations can be purchased online through major retailers for a few bucks. Not that it takes much skill to jiggle these locks open with an improvised tool.
These locks are completely useless in preventing luggage theft even if TSA doesn’t just remove the lock and throw it in your luggage or it doesn’t break off during handling. If you are taking anything of value on a flight you need to request special handling so that you can apply at least a vaguely secure lock, or better yet, ship your valuables via FedEx.
“Bag slashers” have a tendency to just cut the straps on your bag and pull it away while associates impede you from pursuit, and if you are too persistent, well, they do have a knife.
You are far better off dressing down and carrying a ratty-looking backpack or book bag that says, “penniless traveler” than an instantly recognizable ‘high security’ bag that screams “I HAVE VALUABLES!”, and also to keep anything of real value or importance on your person, preferably under clothing.
I wish folks would lighten up a little. This seems to be one of those areas where everyone has opinions, and many seem to think that people who disagree with them are not only wrong but stupid. I don’t see any need to have so much attitude about it either way. Do what you think is right, what works for you, and if someone else does something different, whatever.
Maybe if the OP is still trying to make a choice, they could ask specific questions or something, maybe that will help keep the snark to a minimum.
Thanks everyone for the input. I’m inclined not to bother with getting TSA approved locks. The most valuable item I’m carrying in my backpack is my laptop, which isn’t an expensive model. I always keep my wallet, phone and passport in a small crossbody purse and I’ll remind my husband and adult kids not to leave theirs in any bag that’s not right with them.
We’re going on a Rhine cruise followed by 3 days in Amsterdam. We have a couple of small padlocks that fit in the metal zipper ends of our hardbody suitcases, and maybe when we leave the cabins or hotel rooms for the day I’ll tell the kids to lock their laptops inside a suitcase, if they’re bringing the laptops on the trip, that is.
I see from the poll discussion thread that clothes were stolen, but I don’t think any of the clothes I’m bringing would be particularly attractive to thieves.
Amsterdam is consistently regarded as one of the safest cities in the world with very low incidence of both violent and property crimes. I would be less worried about being a victim of theft in Amsterdam (or on a Rhine cruise) than I would of staying in Omaha, Neb. Unless, of course, you are a character in a Martin McDonagh film.
Honestly, I wouldn’t bother with the (mostly useless) security measures on your trip, and instead of bringing laptops with personal information just buy a few used Android or Apple tablets that you would keep in carryon luggage and which are going to be lighter, easier to charge, and just as useful for web browsing or checking flight schedules anyway.
Omaha kind of sucks but despite some crime ridden areas in East Omaha is a pretty dull Midwestern city with low levels of crime…by US standards. Still high compared to pretty much any city in Northern Europe, but there you go.
But while you know that the backpack’s contents aren’t all that valuable, a would-be thief isn’t aware of that. They see the backpack, and they can likely presume its contents are valuable.
These two guys are apples and oranges. Lockpicking Lawyer uses skill, dexterity, and years of experience to pick locks. That’s not the guy who will be breaking into your hotel room.
Deviant Ollam is all about simple stupid stuff that is at best “security by obscurity.” If he can bypass a lock he will.
For example, many of those hotel safes can be opened with a magnet, and any good maintenance person would know how to open any room door in seconds without a room key. Put that combo together and those safes are less secure.
I’m not saying you should worry about it; I don’t worry about it either. But it’s an eyeopener to see how stupid simple some of his bypasses are.
But when I fly domestically I have a declared firearm in my luggage and it’s required to be locked. I’d rather use a (yes, worthless) TSA lock than have them cut a lock off if they want to inspect the bag. The TSA locks are relatively inexpensive. Some of my bags have them built in.
I never lock my suitcase (those locks are a joke) and I’ve never used the hotel safe. Never had an issue, and I’ve travelled across Europe (including Russia), Central Asia, Mexico, South Africa, all over the States. Not to say it doesn’t happen — it clearly does — but not enough to worry me. Never been pickpocketed either.
I guess I’m lucky that I’ve never been robbed while traveling, though I once stayed in a hotel in Glasgow where the door handle could be forced without too much effort. My main concern is luggage going walkabout at the airport (I have a story about why I won’t travel through Brussels Airport anymore but it’s tl;dr for this thread), so the only big security thing I do these days is the luggage tracker app on my phone, with the electronic tag hidden in the suitcase. My feeling about locking the luggage is, there’s a tiny key for me to misplace, and anyone who’s going to make a break for it with my heavy-ass suitcase is likely going to get away with it.
