Theft in lounges - how frequent?

[ayebee]

I had a QFF bag (the original one with red piping) stolen from the SYD domestic QP in Feb 97, while I nipped into the toilet prior to boarding flight to MEL.
2 guys who had been sitting nearby were gone, but who knows.
All I had was my boarding pass and staff advised me to go to MEL lounge on arrival where they organised a voucher for a taxi to bring my spare car keys from home so I could retrieve my car and get home.
Did the usual card cancellations, new drivers license, changed house locks (they had my keys and license with address).
I did a police report mainly for insurance, but QF security also made some sort of investigation.
No real outcome other than they gifted me a new QFF bag.

The weird thing is about a year later I got a call from Rydges Parramatta asking when I was going to collect my bag from lost property. Huh ?
Was on a work trip to Sydney a week or so later and went by the hotel.
Nothing was missing.
Mobile phone, work papers, wallet with no cards or money gone. (gave most of the cash to the hotel staff)

Still a mystery. Maybe they thought it was a good prank ??

 

[Seat0B]

It's a pain to take everything with one when going to the toilet in an airline lounge, as occasionally someone else may have pinched one's seat by the time one returns.

Totally agree. That’s why I usually “risk it” by leaving at least a coat to mind my table.

 

[p--and--t]

I had a QFF bag (the original one with red piping) stolen from the SYD domestic QP in Feb 97, while I nipped into the toilet prior to boarding flight to MEL.
2 guys who had been sitting nearby were gone, but who knows.
All I had was my boarding pass and staff advised me to go to MEL lounge on arrival where they organised a voucher for a taxi to bring my spare car keys from home so I could retrieve my car and get home.
Did the usual card cancellations, new drivers license, changed house locks (they had my keys and license with address).
I did a police report mainly for insurance, but QF security also made some sort of investigation.
No real outcome other than they gifted me a new QFF bag.

The weird thing is about a year later I got a call from Rydges Parramatta asking when I was going to collect my bag from lost property. Huh ?
Was on a work trip to Sydney a week or so later and went by the hotel.
Nothing was missing.
Mobile phone, work papers, wallet with no cards or money gone. (gave most of the cash to the hotel staff)

Still a mystery. Maybe they thought it was a good prank ??

Picked up by accident and dumped it when realised it wasn't theirs??

 

[jb747]

Well, I guess the lounges are full of business people, and we know that they’re thieves at best.

 

[ayebee]

Picked up by accident and dumped it when realised it wasn't theirs??

I suspect that would be a generous interpretation.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

I suspect we'll never have definitive stats on how prevalent thefts from lounges are. But I will chime in and provide some anecdotal experiences having visited a number of lounges. In general, yes I will leave my bag/laptop on a chair whilst I go to the buffet/bar when I am in an airline lounge. The thinking being is it's a low risk activity, since everyone in the lounge had to be scanned in, and even to get to the lounge you need to show ID and your boarding pass to clear security (I know for Australia domestic flights that's not the case, but generally this is the process). Combine that with CCTV and tracking available vis-a-vis AirTags and such, the cost of doing the right thing (that is keeping all items on you at all times in the lounge) is much higher than the benefit of being able to roam about the lounge.

It is a pity they didn't steal a credit card from you. The reason being is that with credit cards, you have 0 liability in the event of a stolen card, but Visa/Mastercard/AmEx can actually catch the perp using the card. One of my cousins was fortunate some years ago (I think in the early 2000s) to have their cards stolen with their wallet and used, meaning within a matter of days the perp was caught red handed.

-RooFlyer88

 

[drron]

Now we travel together so no problem. But when I was working away I took everything with me when visiting the loo but leave a glass of wine and a bowl of nuts or chips on the table to save it. If going for a refill I nearly always got one of the tables close to the food/Bar so could keep an eye on my things. Not a very trusting fellow.

 

[MARTINE]

I am happy (not as fussed) to lose a jacket but always taken my handbag as it contains phone/wallet/passport. Losing that is an uber-PITA that I do not want to ruin my holiday.

 

[Princess Fiona]

I don’t take anything with me to the bathroom in international lounges that are familiar to me except my lippie
Domestic pretty much same.

Sliding scale with this though and any dodgy priority pass, plaza premium or Amex then I do a quick risk assessment and may end up taking all my worldly goods with me to get a wine.

 

[SeatBackForward]

Well, I guess the lounges are full of business people, and we know that they’re thieves at best.

Ha! The worst thieves become politicians, the best thieves become wealthy and have the laws changed for them.

 

[Human]

I’m happy to leave a phone, laptop or iPad charging because if stolen they’re more-or-less useless: devices use FaceID or TouchID or the equivalent, and any significant changes require 2FA. In any case they can be traced remotely using FindMy (I use Apple devices but I assume Windows and Android are similarly tough to crack). And my backpack has an AirTag in it which would take a thief several minutes to find.

However, I don’t leave wallets and passports unattended.

 

[Big John]

I'm highly paranoid.

When travelling alone, I always try to get a seat close to the F&B, so that I keep an eye on my stuff.

I also make a big show of checking my stuff while waiting for my coffee/toast to deter any potential thieves !

 

[tdimdad]

I usually carry my phone, passport, BP and wallet to the buffet, bathroom, etc. Laptop goes back into the bag ("out of sight, out of mind"). But I do leave my bags behind to keep the table reserved. Or, if for some reason I decide to take the bags with me, I'll then also risk losing my seat and having to search for a new one (has happened a few times).

 

[SOPOOR]

I’m happy to leave a phone, laptop or iPad charging because if stolen they’re more-or-less useless: devices use FaceID or TouchID or the equivalent, and any significant changes require 2FA. In any case they can be traced remotely using FindMy (I use Apple devices but I assume Windows and Android are similarly tough to crack). And my backpack has an AirTag in it which would take a thief several minutes to find.

However, I don’t leave wallets and passports unattended.

Im pretty sure thieves arent even going to consider for a second if your phone requires face id or not

 

[Human]

Im pretty sure thieves arent even going to consider for a second if your phone requires face id or not

Well, I just asked that font of all reliable information, ChatGPT, whether TouchID and FaceID has or has not resulted in a decrease of instances of phone theft. Its response included the following:

• Since the introduction of biometric features on smartphones, several major cities reported a decrease in phone theft including a reduction of 50% in London, 27% in San Francisco, and 16% in NYC.
• Features such as Activation Lock have made it much harder for thieves to resell phones.
• The black market value of stolen devices has decreased since the introduction of FaceID and TouchID because it is now so much harder to access, and wipe, the information on a stolen phone.

Assuming that the above information is more-or-less accurate (which I suppose hinges on what you think of ChatGPT), my guess would be that some thieves would consider that it's not like the old days where you could just nick a phone, erase it pretty much instantly and sell it.

 

[ayebee]

Not strictly on topic, but also related to thefts at airports ...

Also back in late 90's I needed to get to SYD before an international connection where I could not check bags through, so was at the QF domestic luggage collection and noticed a guy take bag which looked like mine from near where it emerged on the belt and started for the exit.
mmm... I might check that.
Cut him off at the door and asked if we could check the tag as it looked like mine.
Oops sorry.
If he was genuine you would have expected him to go back to find his real bag but went straight out the exit. Dodgy.

That is why in unsecure areas I always stand with a view of where the bags emerge from handling.

 

[33kft]

Since the introduction of biometric features on smartphones, several major cities reported a decrease in phone theft including a reduction of 50% in London, 27% in San Francisco, and 16% in NYC.

I'm no statistician, but isn't this the definition of "correlation, not causation"? There is simply zero reason for biometrics to be a greater deterrent in London than NYC. Also if several have seen a decrease, several have seen an increase (ie it is not an absolute reduction) and that really has no basis in this scenario either.

Edit: I went to argue my case with ChatGPT directly and it seems it knew I was coming.

There isn't clear, direct evidence that technologies like Touch ID and Face ID have led to a significant decrease in phone thefts overall. However, biometric security features such as these do make stolen phones less valuable to thieves.

Here's why:

And much of the same content above. So I think I'll just let that one go...

 

[Human]

I'm no statistician, but isn't this the definition of "correlation, not causation"? There is simply zero reason for biometrics to be a greater deterrent in London than NYC. Also if several have seen a decrease, several have seen an increase (ie it is not an absolute reduction) and that really has no basis in this scenario either.

Edit: I went to argue my case with ChatGPT directly and it seems it knew I was coming.


And much of the same content above. So I think I'll just let that one go...

The Shape of Things to Come:

“My AI-generated argument is better than your AI-generated argument”.

(I might begrudgingly admit that your non-AI generated argument does have a point though…)

 

[SOPOOR]

Well, I just asked that font of all reliable information, ChatGPT, whether TouchID and FaceID has or has not resulted in a decrease of instances of phone theft. Its response included the following:

• Since the introduction of biometric features on smartphones, several major cities reported a decrease in phone theft including a reduction of 50% in London, 27% in San Francisco, and 16% in NYC.
• Features such as Activation Lock have made it much harder for thieves to resell phones.
• The black market value of stolen devices has decreased since the introduction of FaceID and TouchID because it is now so much harder to access, and wipe, the information on a stolen phone.

Assuming that the above information is more-or-less accurate (which I suppose hinges on what you think of ChatGPT), my guess would be that some thieves would consider that it's not like the old days where you could just nick a phone, erase it pretty much instantly and sell it.

Thats fair enough, surprised to see that much of a affect.
Giveb the last theft i saw was at coles where a woman was trying to "refund" things she had just stolen and i overheard staff saying "she literally just walked out of the store just then and now she is trying to refund them!"

 

[Warks]

Who remembers the old pigeon holes for your hand luggage as you entered the Qantas lounges? I think they were there until at least September 2001. I never had any qualms leaving things unattended back in the day but I feel a bit more like Basil Fawlty these days, judging the clientele (who are probably judging me).