When we think of airports, most of us don’t think of crime: an airline terminal is the last place a robber with panty hose pulled over his head would be found. We think of airports as one of the most crime-free areas around: just to get near a plane, everyone is screened by trained security. However, the truth is security is concerned with stopping catastrophic crime - a hijacked plane, for instance - and too busy to deal with the everyday activities of a petty thief.

The petty thief knows this, feeding on airport terminals, places where pandemonium keeps people from being overly vigilant with their belongings. The person distracted or disarrayed, worried about making a flight or finding their gate, can easily become the thief’s target. However, there are things you can do to assure you and your luggage or your purse don’t make an unwanted departure.

Don’t Set Your Luggage Down: This day and age, an abandoned Samsonite is not allowed: travelers are reminded to keep their baggage with them. While most travelers do this, it’s quite easy to set your luggage down just a few feet away. If you’re in a bathroom stall, you may find yourself setting your luggage down near the door, a place where a passerby could reach down and grab it before you’re even done flushing. If you’re making a call at a pay phone, your luggage may rest at your feet, somewhere it could easily be picked up. If you’re in an airport coffee shop, you may leave your luggage at your table while you go retrieve more cream and sugar. All of these instances may seem convenient, but they give thieves the prime opportunity to take the luggage and run. The way to prevent this is to simply keep your luggage in your arms or in your lap at all times: don’t set it down, not even for a second.

Be Wary of People asking for Help: Thieves often work in pairs: one person distracts you while the other steals your things. Sometimes the distraction happens when a person approaches you and asks for help. Perhaps they need directions to the restroom or perhaps they want to know where the airport bar is located. While you - the good Samaritan - direct them, their accomplice comes up from behind and takes anything you aren’t watching: your purse, your luggage, your lap top computer. The airport is so full of people who work there - people in uniforms - that there is really no reason anyone should ask you for help when they can more easily ask an airport employee. This doesn’t mean you should flat out refuse to help anyone who asks, but only help someone when you feel comfortable…and have a firm grasp on all of your belongings.