A flight attendant has shared a common luggage tag practice that may be putting you in danger.
Ally Case, an American Airlines crew member who is based in the US, has become a viral sensation on TikTok for often sharing various travel tips and tricks that she’s learned from her career.
Recently, she posted a video detailing an act that many do while flying that they may not realize was posing as a risk to them: using a luggage tag.
Luggage tags usually display a traveler’s details on a card that’s put into a sleeve, and provides the owner’s home addresses, phone number, and full name in case it gets lost and someone needs to contact the person it belongs to.
But Ally pointed out in the clip that people who use luggage tags are leaving their personal information in clear view for anyone to see.
A flight attendant has shared a common luggage tag practice that may be putting you in danger
Thankfully, she shared a simple switch that plane passengers can do to protect themselves from strangers.
‘I don’t know why more people don’t do this,’ she began in the TikTok, which has been viewed a whopping 852,000 times.
‘Always, always, always flip your information on your luggage card backwards,’ she suggested.
‘I cannot tell you how many people I see on a daily basis with their information displayed for anyone to see. Their name, their phone number, their home address.
‘What you can do instead is fill out the information card and flip it backwards, that way when you’re on the train or on the plane you’re not just giving your information to everyone.
‘But if your bag is actually lost, someone can flip this over and get your information. You can also write “flip over” or something like that as well. Stay safe out there.’
In the caption, Ally described the suggestion as one of her ‘top travel safety tips.’
‘I don’t even like strangers to know my name – no chance am I going to have my phone number and home address on display,’ she added.
She pointed out that people who use luggage tags are leaving their personal information in clear view for anyone to see, and suggested you turn them backwards to stay safe
Many people were grateful for Ally’s advice, and took to the comment section to thank her.
‘What a great tip,’ one person wrote.
‘Such a great bit of advice. Will definitely be doing this from now one,’ another added.
‘Great advice! Love it. So smart,’ someone else gushed.
‘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 info.’
‘Also, immediately take airline baggage ticket off,’ a different user suggested.
‘I met someone in hotel bar while waiting for room, I gave them first name and with that and city I flew out of from my tag they found me on LinkedIn next day.’
Others shared alternative ways to protect your information.
Many people were grateful for Ally’s advice, and took to the comment section to thank her
Others shared alternative ways to protect your information
‘I don’t put my home address on that tag. I’ve set up a dedicated email address instead,’ one person revealed.
‘I put a large sheet of paper with my information in my bag on top of everything that way if it’s lost and opened its there,’ someone else commented.
‘My tag has a flap that covers that,’ another user added.
‘I just slide my business card into the holder. That has enough info to get it back to me,’ a different viewer said.