Goofy Thinking about "Luggage Tag Thieves"

I never worry about it myself , address is on my tags !

I'd agree that the chances of all that happening are very very low.
However, why not just put an initial and last name and town on it, like J. Smith, Anytown. If it's lost that's enough for the airline to figure out who you are, plus you'd be calling them anyway.

I keep a piece of paper inside my bag with my name and the name, phone # and address of the hotel in the city I am flying to. My bag isn't going to do me any good if it gets sent home at the beginning of a trip, or while I still need it.

I update the info for any flight I take during the trip.

I've also heard these same warnings on several occasions, but I don't believe it's really that much of a problem. How would potential burglars in a distant airport know that the traveller doesn't have other family members staying in the house? Also, a lot of the baggage handling these days is almost totally automated so people aren't involved in the process as much.

I suspect posting vacation plans on Facebook or Twitter would be more of a risk as there could be acquaintances that know where the house is located and know more about the vacation plans and whether or not someone will be in the home.

My luggage tags have my name, city, and cell phone number on them.
I think that is enough information to have a bag returned to me.
At the very least, I can be contacted while on the road.
Having my address on the tag will do me no good if my bag is lost on route to Europe (and I almost always carry on any way.)

My house is never empty when I travel...I have an attack cat!

My luggage tag has my name, email, and phone number, period. That is enough to identify me and have the bag returned if itis misplaced ( which it was once).

I think this is an urban myth, and you might be over-reacting.
Slim chance that thieves will be interested in scanning your FaceBook or other social media accounts.
Just make sure to lock up your house, and have someone hold your mail and newspapers.

Might be true, might be false. I choose to believe that it may be true - there are plenty of opportunistic thieves out there.

That's why my luggage tag is always covered.

I don't think is worldwide networks, it is the local guys who happen to read as you leaving on your trip.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure....

Decades ago (pre-Internet) I read a warning in a travel publication about thieves stealing luggage in airports in southern Spain, getting the addresses of the British travelers and providing that information to cohorts back home so the travelers' homes could be burgled. Now, I have no idea whether it really happened, but considering the heavy flow of British vacationers to the Costa del Sol, I believed it at the time.

It's not something I've ever worried about as an American, but I live in a controlled-access building.

With your name and email or phone number anyone can go online look up your address with a handy google map for directions. It sounds like an old urban travel legend and I doubt there are that many enterprising burglars going to this length.

Move along...there's nothing to see here.

I don't believe it to be a problem, but if you are concerned, there are two possible ways you can address the issue: 1) Instead of your home address, attach a business card with your work address and phone number. 2) Get one of the luggage tags like I have that wraps around your luggage handle, like a cushion, with your ID info tucked inside.

I can't imagine when someone, who is in a position to rob my house, could read my tag. I carry on only and it's only out of my hands during security, the trunk of a rental or while I'm in lodging away from home.

I had a similar thought recently about having your address on your car registration. If someone broke into your car while in airport or near-airport long term parking, wouldn't that accomplish the same thing? I was thinking the police don't really need your address on your registration. When they pull up the tags they can compare their record to your driver's license.

I guess you'd have to figure out the relative risk. If it never happens, you probably don't need to worry about it.

Many thanks for the replies. To be clear, I think the likelihood of someone breaking into your house because of luggage tag is negligible. Just wondering what others thought. Not that I am surprised by "misinformation" on the net. Several months ago I read someone's "Top 10 Travel Myths" and it included money belts. She said money belts were useless and the myth was that they were helpful. According to the author, they were not helpful because it was so inconvenient to use them when you wanted to make a purchase. Now whether you use a money belt or not, most people on this forum know that they are for deep storage, not your basic purchases. However, this author was passing herself off as a travel expert and being published on the net. That was also my basic feeling about the "expert" who said no to luggage tags. It is about the 3rd time I read that this year so I thought I'd mention it. So basically, this thread is about misinformation (in this case travel related) on the net and using common sense as opposed to simply believing "experts."

If a thief wants to hang out at the airport luggage carousel and call his partners in crime about every luggage tag with an address and then take the risk that the house is not in fact empty of occupants just because he saw one such occupant at the airport, then I figure he's earned the right to loot the place.

Your house can only be successfully robbed if it has no alarm system or security protection of any kind, including insurance for valuables against damage/loss. What does that have to do with displaying your full address on a luggage tag? The luggage tag is to protect your luggage and its valuables, just as an alarm/security system (backed up with proper insurance) protects a house and its valuables. If you take care of both, you should have no issues. Why conflate the two with a bizarre allegation of correlation? I won't even refute the possibilities point by point because this thread is purely conspiratorial.

There are far more sophisticated and effective ways to obtain and sell your private information for profit without involving airport workers or the risks that come with robbing a house.

I have no idea if this is only an urban myth or if there have been such cases, and I have no idea if there are any reliable stats on this. But since it's really no extra trouble at all, why shouldn't I just take the small precaution and not have my address visibly on the tag?

I always have a piece of paper with my address in an easy-to-find place within my suitcase, so if it does get lost, there won't be any issues at all finding me.

On the outside, I only have a tag with my last name (no way for anyone to figure out where I live from that alone), my destination (NOT my home address, only the airport), and a cell phone number that not even Google will connect with my name or address.

My tinfoil hat protects me from these dangers.

http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=91959