HACKER Q&A
📣 treyfitty

TSA stole my wallet from checked luggage. What can I do?


I was leaving NYC and didn’t think it made sense to bring my vacation money on my persons, so I put it in my checked luggage. I land in another country only to realize my whole wallet was stolen. Does this happen often? What recourse is there?

  👤 GianFabien Accepted Answer ✓
Checked luggage is handled by many persons and in many different places. The TSA are only one of those many steps. Even though TSA keys should be secure, I doubt that there aren't counterfeit ones around. Rogue baggage handlers are not uncommon.

You need to read the fine print on your ticket and your travel insurance to find out what actions are available to you. Most travelers would never put valuables in their checked luggage.

👤 warrenm
The first "recourse" is: don't put valuables like wallets in your checked bag (depending on where in the bag it was, it also could have fallen out, and not been "stolen", per se) - carry them on your person or in your carry-on

Second, if it were stolen, there's nothing saying it was TSA vs baggage handlers

Third, call all your card issuers represented in your checked wallet, report them stolen, and ask for replacements to be sent

Fourth, carry important things like your wallet on your person/in your carry-on in the future

👤 kstenerud
It happens often and there isn't any recourse that actually works.

TSA employees are poorly paid and poorly trained, so easy thefts are common.

👤 verdagon
If you have renter's insurance, they'll likely cover thefts like this. Sorry for your trouble and best of luck!
👤 trompetenaccoun
How do you know it was stolen by TSA?