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Travel insiders are sounding the alarm over a travel scam that could affect airline passengers who check a bag.
Scammers are reportedly stealing luggage tags and filing fraudulent claims with the information to seek compensation for “lost” luggage when in fact the luggage is fine, according to a post on Reddit. Scammers are apparently taking travelers’ white barcode tags, which can often have private passenger information like their name and itinerary confirmation number.
Awareness of the scam went viral after someone who said they were an airline baggage employee posted about witnessing it in practice and encouraged others to be careful when flying.
“We are getting an influx of fraudulent claims being submitted for ‘missing items’ as these people are observing who is removing their luggage tags in the claim areas and using your information to submit claims for reimbursement,” the person wrote in the Reddit post. “From my own personal experience in currently dealing with this it is causing issue with reimbursing the real people if they submit a legitimate claim. So please be careful and don’t take your tags off at the airport. They can steal enough information from that to use your travel itinerary to get paid.”
Travel + Leisure was not able to independently verify the claims of the social media post.
On Reddit, travelers recommended passengers discard their luggage tags at home or shred them.
“Clearly my strategy of forgetting to remove the tag until it’s time for my next trip is paying off,” one traveler joked.
“(I) always tossed them at home, not because i’m conscious but i’m kinda forgetful,” another person wrote.
While the social media post may be going viral, luggage scams are not new and several people have even been charged for the crime.
In 2021, two people were charged in federal court with conspiracy to defraud airlines through false claims for lost baggage. The duo were accused of filing more than 180 missing bag claims.
In another incident, a London man pleaded guilty to making fake lost luggage travel insurance claims worth about £75,000 ($101,101) last year, according to the City of London Police.
“Travel insurance is intended to be a reassuring safety net should the worst happen, not a means of personal financial gain,” Detective Constable Vincent Baughan said in a statement at the time, adding the man “even booked flights that he never took, showing the lengths that he went through to try and avoid detection.”
