Executive Travel : Are You an Easy Target for Airport Thieves? Helpful Tips

It was the kind of moment that business travelers have nightmares about. An Israeli diamond merchant leaving Chicago stepped from his taxi outside a terminal at O’Hare International Airport, putting down a green canvas bag while he arranged for a skycap to carry away his luggage. In a flash a stranger scooped up the bag and tossed it into a waiting car. A second car momentarily blocked traffic to prevent pursuit.

In seconds several hundred thousand dollars worth of gems had disappeared down the road.

Unlike many, this story ended more happily than it began. A couple bidding farewell to friends inadvertently caught the incident on videotape. With the film and witnesses, police later arrested three men and recovered much of the loot.

The thieves had pegged their target in advance and followed his taxi from a downtown hotel to the airport.

Not all crimes are plotted as well as this one nor are the losses always as great; but airports remain one of the major fields of hazard for unsuspecting travelers.

If you answer no to any of the following questions--according to Carlson Wangonlit Travel whose experts made up the test--you too are a potential airport theft target:

* At the curbside drop-off, do you make sure the porter actually puts the bags in a safe place or directly on his cart or on the loading belt?

* Do you always pay close attention to your bags while unloading your car?

* Do you stash valuables only on your person or within reach (and not in checked luggage which can be rifled or “lost”)?

* Do you use only your business address on luggage and carry-on tags, and not your home address that could tip inquiring eyes to the location of a potential no-one-at-home burglary?

The company also recommends you handle your own luggage whenever possible; use travelers checks; pay attention to routes and the surrounding conditions when taking public transportation; be alert and observant and note emergency exits in terminals, and block the view when punching telephone credit card numbers so “shoulder surfing” thieves can’t copy them.