Web: www.fishfoto.com -- E-Mail: fish@flyingwithfish.com
3/11/2008 – Baggage Locks : Keys vs Combination
All travelers worry about having items stolen from their bags while traveling. Having items stolen from checked baggage is just as frustrating as having items stolen from your carry on bags.
When I travel I keep locks on all my bags, even when only flying with carry-on baggage. Each zipper can be secured, especially when in certain situations, and if I am taking a nap, locks are needed for my PacSafe Anti-Theft Protector.
When you choose your locks, even working within the requirements of a TSA Sentry Approved Lock, not all locks are created equal. Yes, some locks are stronger than others, but that is not what I am addressing. What I am addressing is the security and practicality of using a combination lock instead of a key lock.
Key locks are prone to two significant security concerns.
The first security concern with key locks is key locks are somewhat easily accessible to professional thieves. Most skilled thieves do not need to pick a lock, or even cut a lock. If thieves are not picking or cutting a lock, how are they opening your lock? With a key-ring full of keys.
Open a package of most baggage locks; you'll get two or three locks with only two sets of keys. This is because one key opens all three locks. Keys for many commercial locks are not unique; they will open thousands of locks. A skilled airport, or train station, their can quickly size up the lock on your bag and know which series of potential keys will open the lock.
The second security concern with using key locks is the potential for losing the keys to your lock. Should you lose your keys in transit, you'll be unable to quickly and easily access your bags when you need to. Additionally, should you break a key off in your lock (and yes, I have heard of this happening more often than you might think) your lock will need to cut off. While getting a lock cut off isn't so hard, it is not that easy when you're standing in the airport, at the gate, awaiting an international flight to board and your boarding pass and passport are in your bag............
Combination locks offer more security and considerably more peace-of-mind. A combination is only known to you and those you've told. Given that thieves cannot easily walk through an airport with a lock cutter, and the sound of a battery powered Dremel Tool sawing your lock off next to your head will wake you up, they'll tend to move on to an easier target.
In addition to slightly more security with the use of combination locks, you cannot lose the combination to your locks. Combination baggage locks tend allow the user to set their own combination. All of my locks have the same combination, this way no matter what lock I snatch out of my drawer the combination is always the same.
Yes, TSA Approved Sentry Locks can all be opened with a set of keys that should only be available to TSA baggage screeners. Yes, these keys are available to those who are not TSA screeners. This does defeat the purpose of securing your bag, however a lock is an effective deterrent. A combination lock is a more effective deterrent.
If a professional thief really wants the contents of your bag, they may be hard to defeat.........so ALWAYS try and reduce your chances of becoming a target and be aware of your surroundings.
Happy Flying!
Showing posts with label TSA screener arrested. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TSA screener arrested. Show all posts
03 November 2008
07 October 2008
Airport TSA Security Screener Busted For One-Man Theft Ring
Web: www.thetravelstrategist.com -- E-Mail: fish@flyingwithfish.com
7/10/2008 - Airport TSA Security Screener Busted For One-Man Theft Ring
What happens when those charged with protecting the flying public become those stealing from the flying public? This has come up time-and-time again.
Nearly 300 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Transportation Screening Officers (TSO) have been discharged and arrested in the past, however a screener at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) went further than the rest.
This week Pythias Brown, a six year veteran of the TSA, was charged with dozens of counts of theft from passengers at EWR, and faces up to 10 years in Federal Prison according to Assistant US Attorney Jenny Kramer.
What ultimately caused Brown to be caught was this theft of a camera, from an HBO crew, valued at US$47,900. What does one do with a US$47,900 camera? They place it on eBay, where someone looking for the stolen camera found it.
A camera Brown had allegedly stolen from CNN was also listed on eBay at the same time Brown had the HBO camera listed on eBay.
According to lead investigator Special Agent Thomas Adams, of the US Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General, 66 camera, 12 GPS units, 11 MP3 players, 31 laptops, 8 camera lenses, 2 DVD players, 6 video cameras, 13 pieces of jewelry and 17 electronic video games were found in Browns house when it was raided last week.
When confronted with the evidence Brown confessed to the crimes. He has been placed on administrative leave from the TSA and will be terminated shortly.
I will say what I have always said; the vast majority of TSA agents do a good job. These agents do what they can to protect the flying public, and with approximately 43,000 TSOs working throughout the TSA, the number of criminal TSA TSOs is a small percentage. However there needs to be more oversight of screeners.
How does a TSA screener leave work with a large movie production camera? How does a screener leave work with 66 camera and 31 laptops with no one noticing? What else did this TSA TSO steal from passengers over the past few years? Check out his eBay feedback here: http://EWRTSOEBay.notlong.com
I am happy that HBO and CNN have received their equipment back. I am glad the US DHS stopped this one-man theft ring. Hopefully this will lead to the TSA creating a new system to check TSOs and deter future thefts from the flying public.
Happy Flying!
7/10/2008 - Airport TSA Security Screener Busted For One-Man Theft Ring
What happens when those charged with protecting the flying public become those stealing from the flying public? This has come up time-and-time again.
Nearly 300 Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Transportation Screening Officers (TSO) have been discharged and arrested in the past, however a screener at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) went further than the rest.
This week Pythias Brown, a six year veteran of the TSA, was charged with dozens of counts of theft from passengers at EWR, and faces up to 10 years in Federal Prison according to Assistant US Attorney Jenny Kramer.
What ultimately caused Brown to be caught was this theft of a camera, from an HBO crew, valued at US$47,900. What does one do with a US$47,900 camera? They place it on eBay, where someone looking for the stolen camera found it.
A camera Brown had allegedly stolen from CNN was also listed on eBay at the same time Brown had the HBO camera listed on eBay.
According to lead investigator Special Agent Thomas Adams, of the US Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General, 66 camera, 12 GPS units, 11 MP3 players, 31 laptops, 8 camera lenses, 2 DVD players, 6 video cameras, 13 pieces of jewelry and 17 electronic video games were found in Browns house when it was raided last week.
When confronted with the evidence Brown confessed to the crimes. He has been placed on administrative leave from the TSA and will be terminated shortly.
I will say what I have always said; the vast majority of TSA agents do a good job. These agents do what they can to protect the flying public, and with approximately 43,000 TSOs working throughout the TSA, the number of criminal TSA TSOs is a small percentage. However there needs to be more oversight of screeners.
How does a TSA screener leave work with a large movie production camera? How does a screener leave work with 66 camera and 31 laptops with no one noticing? What else did this TSA TSO steal from passengers over the past few years? Check out his eBay feedback here: http://EWRTSOEBay.notlong.com
I am happy that HBO and CNN have received their equipment back. I am glad the US DHS stopped this one-man theft ring. Hopefully this will lead to the TSA creating a new system to check TSOs and deter future thefts from the flying public.
Happy Flying!
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