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Theft: items stolen from AA checked baggage / luggage (consolidated)

Theft: items stolen from AA checked baggage / luggage (consolidated)

 
Old Mar 11, 2007, 7:50 pm
  #76  
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Deodorant, cologne, toothpaste... you were lucky. But if you really wanted to find the perp, I suspect you could have followed your nose.

Originally Posted by SharpDoggy
Lucky they did that to you. My toiletry bag had all it's contents stolen. WHO would steal deodorant., cologne, toothpaste, and about 4 dollars in change (among other stuff typically found in a toiletry bag).
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Old Mar 11, 2007, 9:24 pm
  #77  
 
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Originally Posted by FWAAA
Never check anything the loss of which matters to you.
Notes... books... study materials... Why I'm glad my carryon has never been weighed!
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Old Mar 11, 2007, 9:55 pm
  #78  
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About a year ago, couple of hours before leaving for the airport, I went on line to check my balances on my 3 cards. It was a long trip and I needed to make sure all the payments have been posted and my MC and VISA were clear.

It was a shock to me that my VISA (still in my possesion) was used the evening before at Wal-Mart, Target and ? (I forget). All three charges were ~$500 each.

I immidiately got on the horn to the security dept of the issuing bank. As I was talking with the agent, she told me that somebody was trying the card again at that exact moment. It didn't work because she blocked the charge, but I would assume she would contact the store and try to find out the details. Either somebody had my CC card information, sold by a waiter or hotel/store clerk and made a card or they were ordering on line.

The agent told me that they can't do that because there is always the possibility that I'm running some sort of scam. She can't be sure she is talking to ME? (HUH??? how else would I have answers to ALL the security questions, etc.etc?) and it would be embarrasing and possibly costly to them if the "proper" owner was arrested at the store. They will only start to investigate, if at all, once I fill out the forms send to my physical address. Don't know if that's true but that's what she told me.

They mailed the card to my house and I had to have a friend forward it to the hotel in South America.

At the end I was not liable for any of the 3 charges.

btw, all three charges were made in and around Houston, TX, a place I have never been to. A week earlier I had a short trip to LA and had couple of dinners and 2 night stay, using that particular card.

Last edited by andrzej; Mar 11, 2007 at 10:02 pm
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Old Mar 11, 2007, 11:21 pm
  #79  
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Originally Posted by andrzej
It was a shock to me that my VISA (still in my possesion) was used the evening before at Wal-Mart, Target and ? (I forget). All three charges were ~$500 each.
I had someone clone my card a few years ago, and started making charges in San Mateo while I was in Germany. They did two back to back $800 transactions, which caught the attention of my credit card provider. They called the second merchant who described the card being used (different color than mine, and different wording on the front), and the thief (a female, with a baby in a stroller). She got away. They tracked me down by calling the PD, who e-mailed me while I was in Germany, and I called the credit card provider from there.

A night didn't go by, when I worked in the Comm Center at the PD, that we didn't get a call on identity theft. I even had cell phone service started in my name using my social security number, after someone accessed City employee records and stole the whole list. A neighbor who worked for the City had a computer shipped in her name to Southern CA. Clearly it's the fastest growing crime in the U.S., and causes a lot of damage while you're trying to put things back together.

Best course is to notify the credit bureaus and flag your records (painless, and all automated). The links I gave out at work were:
Federal Trade Commision Identify Theft site
Secret Service financial crimes web site

Both of these sites have very useful information on them.
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Old Mar 12, 2007, 1:38 am
  #80  
 
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CC Fraud Alert!

Originally Posted by oldpenny16
Sorry for your loss. All of the gas stations we use now require that you enter your zip code when using a credit card to buy gas. Was your zip code in the wallet? If not, was it on your baggage tag?
Not in my case. I don't recall entering my zip at any gas pump in AUS. Zip code is required for all my Walmart trips though.
Originally Posted by andrzej
About a year ago,... It was a shock to me that my VISA (still in my possesion) was used the evening before...
I immidiately got on the horn to the security dept of the issuing bank... Either somebody had my CC card information, sold by a waiter or hotel/store clerk and made a card or they were ordering on line...
That's just one possible scenario. Thanks to the technology, nowadays it's very easy to become a victim to the cc fraud and identity threft. It doesn't matter whether your card is still in your posession. The "cyberthieves" or hackers can effectively "produce" valid cc accounts numbers and use them for online purchases. You will be surprised to learn how easily those attempted charges will go through without matching names, addresses..etc.

It happened to me once. My issuing bank spotted that strange online purchase and reversed the charge. My card was used to purchase a $25 pre-paid phone card online. I didn't find out until days later when I was doing my routine creditcard online monitoring. Before this happened, I used to monitor my cc transactions every 2-3 week, if not monthly. No I do my routine monitoring a couple of time per week, if not daily. Even though what happened to andrzej or me were different from OP(we didn't literrally lose our cards), it is wizer to take a more proactive approach to protect ourselves in this cyberworld.

Moniter your cc transactions and credit report regularly and frequently, if you don't want to be a victim.

Last edited by lin821; Mar 12, 2007 at 2:17 am
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Old Mar 12, 2007, 8:46 am
  #81  
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Originally Posted by lin821

Moniter your cc transactions and credit report regularly and frequently, if you don't want to be a victim.
Definitely. I use Quicken for financial record keeping, and it allows connection and down load of information from accounts and CCs. I do this daily, and will know immediately if something is wrong.

I had my card (still in my possession) used a couple of years back for a cash advance. First saw a suspicious "hold" on the account. Citibank couldn't do anything until the charge happened. Then they saw that it was a $600 cash withdrawal in Nevada. They pursued it and got the merchant to credit it back. Citibank was quite sure that the merchant supplying the case was in cahoots with the perp on this.

Damage to me- had to get a new card, new number, change stored info, etc.

Cheers.
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Old Sep 3, 2008, 5:22 pm
  #82  
 
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JFK AA Baggage Handlers Accused of Jewelry Theft

http://www.wnbc.com/news/17382187/de...l?dl=mainclick

So many questions and comments I don't know where to start.
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Old Apr 13, 2011, 5:20 pm
  #83  
 
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Opening up again.

DFW-HOU was the last leg:
How about a toy train (shinkansen) and camcorder charger that made it to SEA customs and then disappeared somewhere between SEA-SLC-DFW-(AA)-HOU?

Anyone else having such issues right now? The longest wait was the change to AA, however.
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Old Apr 13, 2011, 5:53 pm
  #84  
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Suggestive, but not definitive. Sorry for your losses.
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Old Apr 14, 2011, 12:52 am
  #85  
 
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If it helps, I had a similar experience a few months ago, also on a connecting international flight into the US.

It was around Christmas 2010, routing LHR-JFK-BOS, and when I opened my bags at my destination, it looked like someone had tipped out the contents, jumped all over everything, and stuffed it back in the bag. Some (not all) of the gifts had been unwrapped (well, that's too kind a term -- absolutely shredded to bits would be more accurate), some had not been unwrapped, some were missing altogether, and some were still there intact.

There was no brochure or other insert to indicate that the bags had been searched or security screened, so I assumed that the items had been stolen. I added the theft claim to my list of things to do, but never got around to claiming anything.

Then, about a month later, a letter arrived from the FAA (yes, the FAA) saying that the investigation into my illegally-checked items had been concluded with no prejudice toward me.

You can imagine my surprise. What investigation? What illegal items? What on earth was going on?

Did some research online, and it turns out there are some crazy things on the list of items you can't check in luggage. For example, refrigerator magnets. Because they might affect the aircraft's guidance systems.

flyzabit, I'm not saying that was the case for you, but maybe the highly esteemed and intelligent gentlemen and ladies who screened your luggage thought that the toy train and power supply (or the contents thereof) fit one of these unlikely criteria, in which case you might receive a similar letter in the mail in a month's time.

At any rate, hope the story might be of use to any others who get these Orwellian letters from the FAA.

Last edited by ExpatExp; Apr 14, 2011 at 12:57 am Reason: Spelling!
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Old Apr 14, 2011, 4:08 am
  #86  
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Was there a note from TSA in your bags?

Last edited by mvoight; Apr 14, 2011 at 4:14 am
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Old Apr 14, 2011, 8:01 am
  #87  
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Originally Posted by ExpatExp
Then, about a month later, a letter arrived from the FAA (yes, the FAA) saying that the investigation into my illegally-checked items had been concluded with no prejudice toward me.

You can imagine my surprise. What investigation? What illegal items? What on earth was going on?

Did some research online, and it turns out there are some crazy things on the list of items you can't check in luggage. For example, refrigerator magnets. Because they might affect the aircraft's guidance systems.
Weird. Do you have a link to the list?
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Old Apr 14, 2011, 11:15 am
  #88  
 
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Originally Posted by uxb
Weird. Do you have a link to the list?
Hmm. The Permitted/Prohibited Items link on the FAA website redirects to the TSA, and the "other prohibited items" link on the TSA website redirects to the FAA

If I can find the letter I received (which has a list on it), then I will scan and post. However, if you do a search for relevant terms like "magnets" and "checked luggage", there are a few likely results. The first time I heard this, however, was when I called the EXP desk, told them what was missing, and after looking up a list they said that magnets were not permitted.

In the end, it's probably regulated by how energetic or ruthless the screeners are feeling at the particular moment when your bag is checked.
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Old Apr 14, 2011, 12:45 pm
  #89  
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Originally Posted by ExpatExp
Hmm. The Permitted/Prohibited Items link on the FAA website redirects to the TSA, and the "other prohibited items" link on the TSA website redirects to the FAA

If I can find the letter I received (which has a list on it), then I will scan and post. However, if you do a search for relevant terms like "magnets" and "checked luggage", there are a few likely results. The first time I heard this, however, was when I called the EXP desk, told them what was missing, and after looking up a list they said that magnets were not permitted.

In the end, it's probably regulated by how energetic or ruthless the screeners are feeling at the particular moment when your bag is checked.
That's insane. I bring home refrigerator magnets all the time for my mum. She has quite the collection. Not once has my bag been ransacked though. TSA did mess with my didgeridoo though.
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Old Apr 14, 2011, 12:50 pm
  #90  
 
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Why do people check bags with expensive electronics in the first place.... always carry on! Never will you find me checking my camera/computer equipment!
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