When I flew out of SFO and went through the body scan, they let you hold your wallet in your hand (which is up in the air with the other hand in surrender mode as instructed by TSA). Then when you step out of the machine they briefly examine the wallet. I found this to be VERY professional and easy.
Then when I was flying back, it was different. TSA at FLL seemed perturbed that I did this (and also with my flying partner who did the same as I since we had just done this in SFO a few days before). They briskly sent me over to a guard when I got out of the scanner(no explanation, I was wondering what the body scan showed????) and then asked for my wallet. The TSA agent left without telling me what was going on and he HAD MY WALLET. He actually ran it through the scanner (not the body scan, the other one).
Lesson learned:
1. TSA should adopt uniform rules for what a person should do at body scanners AT ALL AIRPORTS.
2. One of those rules should be to let the person hold onto their wallet and boarding pass and hand examine it in front of the client. TSA is putting themselves and (especially) their employees in danger of being accused of theft should anything be missing.
3. Body scan rules should be sent to customers when they purchase their tickets and when they check in and posted all over the TSA area before one gets into the line
4. When you do something (like demand a wallet from a person) complete the sentence as in "please give me your wallet so I can run it through the xray machine. Thank you".
TSA, these are suggestions that would help make it easier and safer for you and your employees and the taxpayers. If one team of TSA agents at one airport thinks a person can take his/her wallet into the body scan, why is that considered unsafe at another airport (and vice-versa)? It makes TSA appear as if it has no idea what they are actually looking for. If a person can carry something in the wallet that can destroy a plane, make us all at all airports have the wallet go through a scanner, otherwise it just appears you have no clue why or what you are doing. I am all for security and I have no issue going through the body scanners. But lack of consistency on some of what TSA does is not giving me a sense of security as a flyer.