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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?"
Long piece of String?
Any security device would be considered a bomb by the TSA and dealt with accordingly.
Any insufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.
Low tech answer is the alarms for elderly people getting up out of bed/chair. Just an alarm box with magnet on a string clipped to person. If they get up it pulls the magnet off the string and sets off the alarm. Should be $50 or less. Clip the string to bottom of bag and hook the alarm to a chair leg or fixture nearby.
Or a GPS device with the tracker app and a tablet...of course if the tablet is in the bag.....
this is what works for me: hideously ugly and decrepit luggage. Since 1992. Never failed once.
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,
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
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Just be sure to include a return address.
Better yet, just use old grungy looking luggage. If your luggage appears to be the least valuable luggage on the train, it will be stolen last. I tend to dress down when I travel because it is more comfortable and it makes me a less desirable target. OK, mainly because it is comfortable :)
Use ugly, beaten up, non descript luggage.
Place your valuables (cash, cards, passport) in a small bag - and stuff it down the front of your pants.
Carry a 'fake' wallet with your day cash, and an expired card or two. Money belts / around the neck pouches are no secret. If you get jumped, they'll look for them. If someone has their hands down the front of your pants, you've got bigger problems.
I find these are the perfect size for the passport: http://www.gapyeartravelstore.com/Trekmates-Microfibre-Bath-Towel-p-1027.html - and you get a travel tower, too!
Most importantly: don't panic, and don't be over-protective of your luggage. Oppurtunistic theives (presumably these are the ones you're trying to prevent) - take body language seriously.
I kind of get the feeling you're taking the trans-siberian train (or similar).. If that's the case, just relax.
The above is tried and tested personally 3x across russia, iran, turkmenistation, ouzbekistan, tadjikistan, kazakstan, mongolia, china, nepal, south america, cambodia, ukraine, etc etc etc - in buses, trains and bikes.
I've taken long train trips. If I expect to have to sleep, I get a room in a sleeper car. If you've got the money to spend on some sort of GPS tracking system and proximity alarm, you can afford a sleeper car. If you can't afford that, lock the zippers, tie the bag(s) to your leg and dream about the day when you can afford to travel in comfort. A well-designed travel bag will be configured so all of the zippers can come together in one location and be locked with a single lock. Even my super fancy camera/laptop bag with 5 external zippered pockets can be locked with two locks.
I do a lot of travel in third world countries where theft risk is a big issue. I'm not sure if a long train ride in first world country qualifies for such paranoia but here's what I do:
1) Padlock all the metal zippers. Anything with in a compartment with a fabric zipper can not be secured. There is little point in securing a bag if someone can simply open a zipper and remove the good stuff. A lock is pointless if someone an simply cut the handle with a pocket knife.
2) String a cable lock through one or more padlocks and wrap it around an immovable object, like a seat leg. I use a cheap bicycle lock much like this one: http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___56711?cm_vc=PDPZ2 but there are plenty of options.
Security doesn't have to be perfect, just good enough that isn't worth the trouble or risk to the thief.
That said, there have been times when I would have liked something a proximity alarm: not so much for theft but so that I don't absent mindedly leave something behind.
1) Don't carry fancy luggage. It attracts attention and tells a potential thief that you have money and are likely carrying valuable items. :-)
2) Try and find a hard sided suitcase rather than a soft one. A pocket knife will slice through the more common soft sided luggage with ease. A hard case makes the thief have to work a bit harder and probably skip the effort all together.
3) Make photocopies of your vital documents and carry the originals on your person and put the copies in your luggage. If your luggage gets stolen it makes it easier to identify you as the owner - assuming of course that you actually ever see it again
4) If you are carrying something valuable in your luggage then try not to open it in public. Take it in the bathroom and watch to make sure you are not followed.
5) If you can afford a private cabin get one. The door has a lock on it so you're less likely to have to worry about theft.
6) If you're carrying a laptop in the carry on luggage then encrypt the hard drive. Truecrypt is free and works probably as well as anything else. At a minimum, create an encrypted volume on the hard drive and put your critical files in there. Better yet, encrypt the whole drive.
7) Put a password on your cellphone. Android and Blackberry allows you to encrypt the contents of the phone and it's password protected. Not sure if iPhone offers something similar but I suspect it does.
8) Don't put your home address on luggage tags. If someone steals your luggage they now know where you live and also know that you're not home. Best case they break into your house and loot it. Worst case your family is home when they break in. I just put my name and a phone number.
Can't you just take out insurance on your luggage and enjoy the trip? It it gets stolen, you'll get new gear.
regards
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.)
Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
Having a gun, any gun, even a starter pistol, subjects your luggage to tighter security. For instance, when I checked a rifle for a hunting trip, the TSA walked me back to a room, made sure the rifle was unloaded and watched me lock the case. Then they handed me a receipt. They pay extra attention to that piece of luggage. When my plane landed, someone escorted my locked case out to me, matched the tag on the on the case with my receipt, checked my ID and gave me my case. There is no way they would have lost that piece of luggage. I bet if my case had been lost or stolen, there would have been a lockdown and search. Lifehacker detailed that same thing, I guess professional photographers pick up a $20 starter pistol just for this purpose. http://lifehacker.com/5448014/pack-a-gun-to-protect-valuables-from-airline-theft-or-loss
I hope that someday we will be able to put away our fears and prejudices and just laugh at people. - Jack Handey
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.