Originally Posted by
goalie
Nonsense at its very best
but just one data point....
Put all things like wallets, watches, cell phones & I/D's in an inside pocket of your jacket and fold the jacket over the pocket so the inside pocket is "buried" in the fold or place those items inside a zippered compartment of your carry-on as anything left out in the open is a theft (by a dishonest TSO or unscrupulous pax) waiting to happen.
That's why I always wear my Scottevest jacket when flying. It has lots of roomy pockets that can be zipped closed. The only downside is that there are so many pockets that sometimes I "lose" things in my jacket.