A flight attendant has shared a common habit involving baggage tags that could be dangerous.
Ally casean American Airlines crew member living in the US has become a viral sensation on TikTok for often sharing all kinds of travel tips and tricks she’s learned throughout her career.
She recently posted a video describing an action many people do while flying that they may not realize carries a risk: using a baggage tag.
Luggage tags with the traveler’s details are usually placed on a card in a sleeve. These include the owner’s home address, phone number and full name, in case the luggage is lost and someone needs to contact the person to whom the luggage belongs.
But Ally emphasized in the segment that people who use luggage tags leave their personal information visible to everyone.
A flight attendant has shared a common baggage tag practice that could put you in danger
Luckily, she shared a simple trick that airline passengers can use to protect themselves from strangers.
“I don’t know why more people aren’t doing this,” she began on TikTok, which has since been viewed a whopping 852,000 times.
“Always, always, always turn the information on your baggage card over,” she suggested.
‘I can’t tell you how many people I see every day with their details 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, you’re not just giving your information out to everyone when you’re on the train or plane.
“But if your bag is really lost, someone can turn this around and get your information. You can also write ‘turn around’ or something like that. Stay safe out there.”
In the caption, Ally described the suggestion as one of her “top tips for safe travel.”
“I don’t even want strangers to know my name. I don’t want my phone number and home address to be visible,” she added.
She pointed out that people who use luggage tags leave their personal information in plain sight, and suggested turning them over to stay safe.
Many people were grateful for Ally’s advice and thanked her in the comments.
“What a great tip,” someone wrote.
“What great advice. I will definitely do this from now on,” added another.
“Great advice! Awesome. So smart,” cheered someone else.
“My daughter’s 15-year-old friend was traveling with us and a man behind us in line at the gate texted her because he saw her number,” a fourth comment read.
“I lost it. Cover your info.”
“Also remove the airline baggage ticket right away,” another user suggested.
“I met someone in a hotel bar while waiting for a room. I gave them my first name and the city I was from, and from there they found me on LinkedIn the next day.”
Others shared alternative ways to protect your data.
Many people were grateful for Ally’s advice and thanked her in the comments
Others shared alternative ways to protect your information
“I don’t put my home address on that label. I created a special email address instead,” one person revealed.
“I keep a large piece of paper with my details in my bag, on top of everything, so it’s always there if I lose it and unfold it,” someone else noted.
“My tag has a flap that covers that,” another user added.
“I just slide my business card into the holder. It has enough info on it to send it back,” said another viewer.
