Ask Slashdot: Anti-Theft Devices For Luggage?

New submitter SkinnyFatSmoothNeck writes "I'll be taking a long train ride in the coming month and I'm looking for ideas and recommendations on anti-theft devices to be used for carry-on luggage. The obvious precautions are always taken: never letting the bag out my sight, wrapping the bag strap around my leg while stowed and so on. But as this is a long ride, there will be a couple of nights involved. The first thing that came to my mind is a two-part device that triggers based on a specified proximity and is controlled from a remote (ie.: the device would be placed inside the bag and trigger a loud alarm if it strays outside of range). Perhaps a more advanced, albeit more expensive, device could also include GPS tracking. But beyond that, what other creative, ingenious or downright sensible solutions do you have to offer?"

Comments

just google it

[v1]

google for "purse alarm". there are a wide variety of options for things that make noise if disconnected.

for proximity, goole all the options with 'child proximity alarm", this is probably more up your alley. Some only sound an alarm on the kid, some only on the parent with the remote, and some do both. that's up to you what you want.

final option for gps is a smartphone with a "find my phone" option. Like with the iphone where you can see where it's at from a computer. that would be useful if the bag disappeared without setting off whatever else you had watching it like a proximity alarm, or if they managed to outrun you and hop in a car etc with your bag,

Re:locks and cables

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't use luggage with zippers at all.

Fellow travelers, and relax

[gweihir]

Luggage is rarely stolen on trains: Any thief would have a high risk of getting beaten up by fellow travelers. The situation also does not lend itself to professional thieves: The haul is not worth a lot commonly, you need to ride the train for some time (and be notices by the conductor, etc.), you cannot run, you cannot scout the situation when you can finally run, there are usually queues at stops, so you have to steal minutes before you can get off the train, etc.

So, get to know your fellow travelers and relax. In fact the only real theft risk I see is if you are overly protective of your luggage. It may inspire some amateur thieve. (Of course, money, documents, etc. belong on your person.)

Re:Don't fly (at least in US)

[OzPeter]

If he's taking a multi-day train trip, it's almost certainly not in the US (may God have mercy on his soul if it is).

I have no idea where the OP is traveling but there are plenty of long distance Amtrak train trips in the US - and a lot of them across scenic routes. I have done Chicago to San Francisco on the California Zephyr and the views of the rockies were stunning. I've also done San Francisco - LA - San Diego which while it was only an single day trip again had stunning views along the way.

Confession of a Bag Thief

[Anonymous Coward]

I am doing this Anonymously because it is embarrassing/super illegal. I used to work as a bellhop at a very large East Coast Casino and for 5 years I stole medication from peoples luggage. It was awful and I regret it very much, but I want to try and give back in the way of relevant information.

First of all, zipper locks are a joke. Just get a ball point pen, take the cap off and place it on the zipped seam and push. It separates the zipper and all you need to do is run the zipper tabs (that are locked together) back around and it looks like nothing ever happened. The only bags that would routinely get me out were the solid plastic kind that have locking combination locks. Since they have no zipper I would pass them by for a bag with a zipper.

Also remember that I know exactly where you keep your medication because it makes a loud clanking noise when I shake your bag. If you put cotton balls in the bottle, I still know where the bottle will be because most people put meds in their toiletries bag. And then, even if you silence your bottle and keep it out the toiletry bag I will still find it because your pain medication is in a large orange bottle that tells me exactly what pills are inside. This applies to anything in a suitcase. If you don't want someone stealing your precious items, put them in inconspicuous bags. If you had to hide $10k in a suitcase the last place I am going to look in is a box of tampons.

There is a high possibility that people will go through your bags if you store them in a bell closet and/or valet type service. As employees, we know where all the blind spots on the camera's are. All you need to do is make your bag look like it would take more of my time to go through. Back in the day, if I would open a bag and see everything perfectly folded and organized I knew I could search the whole thing in under 15 seconds. On the other hand, if there was shit just tossed in, I would really think twice about weather I had enough time to make an inspection.

I will stop here, but if you guys have any more questions I will be glad to answer any questions. There are more ways / techniques, but this is the most common.

 

Re:Don't fly (at least in US)

[AmiMoJo]

You can actually buy those in many airports. They are called luggage alarms, you put one part in your luggage and keep the other bit on your person. If they ever get too far apart one or both start beeping. Low power, low range radios are used.