If you're the type of traveler who fails to remove airline luggage tags until the next time you need to catch a flight, never let anyone accuse you of being neglectful. Turns out you're a vigilant defender against identity theft.
Or so suggests a travel warning posted to Reddit by a user claiming to be a Delta Air Lines employee.
Flyers who check luggage should always wait until they're back home to discard the sticky paper tags affixed to bags by airlines, the Redditor writes.
Fraudsters "can steal enough information from [bag tags] to use your travel itinerary to get paid," according to the self-identified "Delta baggage claims manager."
The way this particular scam would work: The bad guys pick up a thrown-out paper tag in the baggage claim area of the airport, then use the info on the tag to submit a fraudulent claim for missing items. The Reddit user claims "an influx" of false claims are being filed in this way.
Some commenters have questioned how successful such a scheme could be.
For instance, travel blogger Gary Leff of View from the Wing pointed out, when asked by news reporters, that tags are scanned by airlines and "each scan from check‑in to baggage belt is logged." So "if a scammer files a missing bag claim where the system shows it was delivered," the discrepancy is likely to be noticed by the airline.
Still, the fraudster could conceivably file a claim falsely contending that something was missing from inside the bag. And besides, the would-be thief would have access to some of your personal information, such as your last name, flight number, and luggage tag number.
Granted, that's limited data compared to what can be gleaned from a printed boarding pass. By scanning the barcode on that document, a hacker can gain access to far more sensitive info, including your airline customer account number and frequent flyer miles as well as even your email address and phone number.
You should definitely not throw away a boarding pass in public (or, for that matter, post a photo of a boarding pass on social media). Wait till you're home to rip the thing up or send it through the shredder before tossing the pieces in the recycling bin.
To be on the safe side, put off getting rid of the tag on your checked luggage, too, until you're home and have made sure all your stuff is accounted for.
Or simply forget about the tag and deal with it the next time you get the bag out for a trip. In this case, negligence is a virtue.