Originally Posted by
Bart
My advice: place your wallet inside your carry-on bag before you go through the AIT/WTMD (whichever applies at your departure airport). It gets screened with the rest of your property and will most likely be cleared by x-ray.
Useful advice, certainly better than in an open bin, but not foolproof.
My wallet has been specifically removed from deep inside my carry-on three times at two airports. Nothing else was looked at, the same wallet in the identically-packed carry-on did not alarm at previous airports same day, and no "contraband" was ever identified. The wallet is thin woven nylon. It carries only folding money, plastic ID and credit cards, no coins.
Each time my folding money was fanned through and/or counted. When I asked if there is something specific about it that causes confusion (since obviously they are not finding anything) I received unhelpful responses that "we can search anything we want, we don't have to tell you why."