Details
 

I made my original post as I stewed at the gate waiting for my delayed flight, but thought I should share more details.......

I was selected for additional screening after my initial pass through the detector. I normally do not pass my wallet through the xray, as I only carry cash, credit cards and my driver's license, so I had it on my person. After I was wanded by the TSA agent, he did the routine pat-down and felt my wallet. He asked that I remove it and put it in one of the plastic containers. I did so without question, thinking he just intended to run it through the xray machine. That is not what happened. He finished up his pat-down and then proceeded to hand over the container with my wallet to his associates. They asked if they could conduct a trace residue test on my items. I assumed they meant my laptop bag and shoes, which is what they originally tested, but this is when they decided to search my wallet. As most of you are aware, they conduct this trace test in a little half desk cubicle sort of thing that blocks most of your sight from what they are doing. I only became aware that my wallet was being searched because the woman going through it dropped half of its contents onto the floor (and no, I do not have a wallet that would just open allowing things to randomly fall out).

Anyway, thank you all for your fast responses. Quite frankly, I just felt a bit intruded on and wanted see if others had any similar experiences. Oh, and by the way, I will take some of the advice shared here should this happen to me again.

Did you forget to tell TSA about your 4th amendment right? If I were you,I'd tell them about my rights (4th amendment).

It occurs to me that there is a legitimate reason they might want to search a wallet: Coins. If you have coins in your wallet that happen to be arranged so as to make a block on the x-ray they might want to see if it was hiding something. I've had x-ray want to inspect other harmless but x-ray opaque things before--not because of the thing but because they couldn't see past it.

A while back, I had my wallet searched once. This was in DEN and was retaliatory because I made a screener change his gloves before he pawed through my briefcase looking for the offending item that triggered the briefcase search. The lead came over and was trying to be the Alpha Male with me. Read on. He lost.

The aggressive one (Lead) took my wallet out of my briefcase and started to carry it away to run through the x-ray. I said, "Wait a minute! There is no way on this green earth that my wallet is leaving my sight." So, said screener proceeds to paw through my wallet contents after he declares he will have to do a hand search. (FYI, I made HIM change his gloves before he handled my wallet, and I know that this annoyed the daylights out of him.)

He "clears" my wallet and hands it back to me. I said, "Not so fast! Wait here while I count my money." He stops in his tracks. I guess he had never had a passenger be so aggressive towards him. I won an Academy Award going through the motions of counting my bills slowly and deliberately. (FYI, I had no idea how much money I was carrying -- certainly less than about $50.00). I said, "You're lucky, pal. It's all here. You're free to go." I honestly have no idea why I added the "You're free to go" comment. The screener (He was a Lead Screener.) didn't look me in the eye from then on.

Heaven as my witness: I wish I was making this up.

"Your free to go"!!!! Still LOL here at the moment. That scene cetrainly needs to end up in an upcoming cult classic such as "TSA and You" or maybe even a 30 second SuperBowl shot!!

:D^^:D
Sweet Lord that was hilarious!!!! I've got to take a blood pressure pill to calm down from that one!

I'm going to have to add that to my "Snarky FTer Response" repertoire!!

I've only had one wallet issue about 3 years ago. Got a secondary because I cleared the WTMD from the Customs area in IAH but the TSOs were too busy jawing to notice. When they finally realized that my carry-on had already passed through the x-ray, the MD TSO asked me to step back through..."Sorry guy, I'm not holding up the line just because you weren't paying attention." So he wanded me, felt the wallet in my pocket and asked be to take it out. Well I did but I held it in my hand. He wanted it in one of the little bins so he could "inspect" it. "Inspect with the wand and your eyes while I hold it, you want to lay hands on it I suggest you call that airport cop over most rickey-tick!" He just moved on to the next passenger after that.

Flies, now I've got Pinot Noir all over my computer - thanks a whole bunch! :D

You guys are my heros! I love it!

Domestically, I use a half dozen or so paper-clips to bind the endorsement pages together with the back cover. Internationally, I rearrange the paper clips such that the endorsement page that I want them to stamp is free and the others are clipped. I've never had anyone go through the trouble of removing the paper-clips.

Those would trigger the xray or the HHMD and that would justify additional search. Curiosity of the TSO is not valid justification.

Have you ever kept coins in your wallet? :eek:

Any guys posting here keep coins in their wallet? :confused:

I have never put coins in my wallet.

Wallets sold to the male customer generally do not have coin pouches.

OMFG! Just stupendous. ^

And I would have paid good money to see that!

Women's, not so lucky.

My boyfriend and I were just laughing about that. When you take public transportation (subways, trains, buses) a lot, you end up with a TON of coins as change. I had to laugh as sometimes, I'd end up with my small wallet just bulging out with dollar coins before I knew it.

They do in Europe.