A flight attendant shared a common baggage tagging practice that can put you in danger.
Allied caseAmerican Airlines crew member based in the US, has become a viral sensation on TikTok for often sharing various travel tips and tricks she has learned during her career.
She recently posted a video detailing an act that many people do while flying that they may not realize poses a risk to them: using a luggage tag.
Luggage tags typically display the traveler’s details on a card that is placed in a sleeve and provides the owner’s address, phone number and full name in case it is lost and someone needs to contact the person it belongs to.
But Ally pointed out in the clip that people who use luggage tags leave their personal information visible to everyone.
A flight attendant shared a common practice with baggage tagging that can put you in danger
Luckily, she shared a simple change that airplane passengers can make to protect themselves from strangers.
“I don’t know why more people aren’t doing this,” she began in the TikTok, which has been viewed no less than 852,000 times.
“Always, always, always put your baggage card information upside down,” he suggested.
‘I can’t tell you how many people I see every day with their information out there for everyone to see: their name, their phone number, their home address.
‘What you can do instead is fill out the information card and turn it over, that way when you’re on the train or plane you’re not giving your information to everyone.
“But if your bag gets lost, someone can turn it around and get your information. You can also write ‘turn around’ or something like that. Be safe.”
In the caption, Ally described the tip as one of her “top travel safety tips.”
“I don’t even like strangers knowing my name; I have no chance of having my phone number and home address visible,” she added.
She noted that people who use luggage tags leave their personal information visible to everyone and suggested turning them around to stay safe.
Many people appreciated Ally’s advice and took to the comments section to thank her.
“What a great tip,” one person wrote.
“That’s great advice. I’ll definitely be putting it into practice from now on,” added another.
“Excellent advice! I love it. Very clever,” someone else commented.
“My daughter’s 15-year-old friend was traveling with us and a guy behind us in the gate line texted her because he saw her number,” a fourth comment read.
“I lost it. Cover your information.”
‘Also, immediately remove the plane ticket from your luggage,’ suggested another user.
‘I met someone at a hotel bar while waiting for a room. I gave them my name and with that and the city I came from according to my tag they found me on LinkedIn the next day.’
Others shared alternative ways to protect their information.
Many people appreciated Ally’s advice and took to the comments section to thank her.
Others shared alternative ways to protect their information
“I don’t put my home address on that label. Instead, I’ve created a unique email address,” one person revealed.
“I put a big piece of paper with my information on it in my bag on top of everything, that way if it gets lost and opened, it’s there,” another person commented.
“My tag has a flap that covers that,” another user added.
“I just slide my business card into the holder. There’s enough information there to get it back,” said another viewer.