Users on Reddit, claiming to be airline employees, are alerting travelers about potential scams involving printed bag tags.
This information surfaced in a post on Reddit’s “R/Delta” forum, which was titled “Throwing a bag tag at home.”
The user, identifying as a “bagment billing manager,” urged people to “start discarding bag tags at home.”
“So be careful and don’t untag at the airport,” the message concluded.
They cautioned that enough information could be stolen from bag tags to exploit travel itineraries.
Many travelers chimed in with their thoughts in the comments section. One user joked, “Obviously my strategy is to forget to remove tags until your next trip is rewarded.”
Another agreed, saying, “I actually leave my next trip tag in my bag until I myself.”
One woman shared, “I’ve always thrown it at home, not because I’m conscious of it, but I kind of forget.”
Another commenter highlighted a system in Japan where bag tag processing containers were conveniently located near exits for security.
“Let’s do it better. Once you reach your destination, shred your bag tag and printed boarding pass as soon as possible,” suggested another Redditor.
Another user noted they always abandoned the tags at home since their full name was printed on them.
The original poster expressed concern that others might scam passengers.
“The bag tag contains only the name and flight details, with the confirmation number written outside the tag,” they noted.
Gary Leff, a travel expert from Texas and author of the blog “View From the Wing,” explained to Fox News Digital that he didn’t perceive fraud as widespread.
“You should install the bag tag and then throw it away at home until any baggage issues are fully resolved,” Leff advised.
However, he did caution that while this isn’t a common scam, it’s still something to consider.
Leff stated that bag tags generally only display limited details like last name, flight number, and specific bag tag numbers.
He pointed out that they typically lack ticket numbers or street addresses.
“Bags will be scanned, and each scan from check-in to the luggage belt is recorded. If a scammer files a claim for a bag reported missing but the system shows it was delivered, especially on a large scale, this raises a red flag,” Leff explained.
“The most frequent issue is filing a claim for a lost bag that was actually delivered, which I have discussed a few times,” he added.
