6 ms·

TSA gave my MacBook Pro to another passenger at LAX, and now it's gone

83 points by teslacar 10y ago

DanBC 10y ago
This got a lot of discussion a while ago here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11759741 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11759741
r00fus 10y ago
Should have a (2016) on the title.
strictnein 10y ago
> "Update, June 2: My computer is back! Scroll to the bottom for an update." The computer was gone for just under two weeks. Still really sucks, of course.
quasse 10y ago
I had an incident with the TSA in Austin where they silently removed my MacBook from the bin of my stuff and just wandered off with it. I was travelling for work so I was carrying two laptops, two tablets and some custom network hardware that all needed to be scanned. Luckily I wasn't too frazzled to notice that one laptop was missing from the bins, but it could have easily gone the way it did for the author here. I ended up having to walk around the checkpoint asking random agents if they had taken my laptop because no one thought it would be worth flagging me down or notifying me in some way that they had taken my property. In the end I spotted some random TSA goon messing around with it at a table all the way across the checkpoint.
- ralfd 10y ago
  And? You ended at the most interesting point: What happened then? What did he say when you approached him?
  - quasse 10y ago
    It wasn't much of a climax, I was pretty annoyed at that point and he mumbled something about individual tests (probably he meant that little swab they do for explosives?) and then just handed it back without doing anything. I was pretty worked up because it was a brand new top spec MacBook Pro and I would have felt terrible explaining to work that I had lost it in an airport.
    - salesguy222 10y ago
      It's possible he was attempting to feign for the cameras that he was doing work on it, waiting for you to walk off, and then he would take it home. Or he's just severely incompetent when it comes to the honor and dignity that TSA agents should have when temporarily confiscating other people's items. I once had my hands swabbed at Raleigh Durham for a "random test" done by the TSA. The testing unit beeped very loudly and said my hands tested positive for explosive residue. I sat there "waiting for instructions" for 10 minutes until another colleague informed the person in charge, "oh yeah; that's been broken for weeks"
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
johansch 10y ago
I really only trust the Japanese airport security people to handle this stuff right. It's really not that hard, but you have to care and have pride in your job, so that cuts out most of the western countries' airport security staff people. Other nations should invest in CV/soft-AI systems.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
et-al 10y ago
I used to think stickers on Macbooks were a crime against their clean design. However when your entire office, or the airport security line, has a row of identical laptops, stickers become very useful in identification.
- drpgq 10y ago
  My Macbook fell off my desk and I ended up with a sizeable dent near the lit up Apple. At least I can recognize it now.
startupdiscuss 10y ago
I forgot my kindle in my rental car once, and I realized it after I was through TSA. The (very kind) TSA lady walked me back through security, to the rental counter, to get the keys to the car park, to retrieve the kindle, back to the rental counter and then back through security! Just wanted to put in a little positive for the TSA. edit: syntax
swanson 10y ago
Before you downvote or comment on the resolution (the laptop mixup was an accident and it was returned shortly after), take a look at the last comment thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11759741 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11759741 which was before it was returned. Interesting to observe the flood of comments about how it was a scam -- when it appears to have been much more innocent.
- waqf 10y ago
  It does sound like a scam, though. Creating a commotion to distract as many agents as possible and hold up the line is exactly how you would do this; and it's still unexplained why the woman accepted a MacBook that wasn't hers (did she have a MacBook too? If so why wasn't it found still at TSA?) The only evidence otherwise is that the laptop was returned — which could also be because the posting attracted so much publicity that the scammers thought they would be caught if the investigation continued. Or at least their modus operandi would become a "known scam", which makes it harder for them to operate.
  - swanson 10y ago
    From the article, > She was with her friend. Her friend had the same computer (which we saw on the video). Her friend ran off to hold the plane at the gate. She thought her friend left her computer. Sat in a diff section of plane so couldn't communicate with her friend (so didn't know she had a duplicate computer), and flew to New York. Discovered the extra computer when they landed. 4 days later, got back to LA, and finally had time to open the computer and investigate, and saw my contact info on the login screen. Sounds like an honest mistake to me.
Exuma 10y ago
Well that was an enraging read. The passive aggressiveness of the last letter from the airline absolutely killed me. We fucked up all your shit, can't wait for you to fly with us again!
mintplant 10y ago
> Amazingly, this story ended well, but the only reason it did is that I set a custom lock screen message that included my contact info. If you are running OS X, I highly recommend that you do the same! This is such a great idea. On Windows 10 this inspired me to set my account profile image to a picture with my phone number and email address.
- avenoir 10y ago
  This got me thinking. I have BitLocker on my XPS. If the same thing happened to me while it's powered down i would be screwed.
  - kamjam 10y ago
    Or, just wrote you name, number and email on some stickers and put them on the bottom of the laptop. It doesn't have to be high tech, and in this story the woman who took the laptop could have got in touch much sooner.
- adviceadam 10y ago
  Yeah that is a great feature. Just set it on my laptop. Had no idea that setting existed.
notliketherest 10y ago
Sorry but that's your fault for not keeping your eye on the laptop the entire time. I literally do not step to the scanner until it goes into the X ray, and then I keep an eye on it until it comes out.
- netinstructions 10y ago
  And when TSA agents pull you aside or ask you to go in a different scanner?
  - glibgil 10y ago
    You refuse while never taking your eyes off your stuff. You make them bring you your stuff
- magic_beans 10y ago
  Right? I'm so paranoid about other passengers stealing my laptop that I have my eye on it every single possible second.
- jungletek 10y ago
  Sorry, but that's some victim-blaming bullshit. I had a laptop LCD destroyed by TSA when one of their lackeys idiotically pushed so many bins through the x-ray machine that it caused mine, and several others at the tail-end of the machine's conveyor, to fall right off. I was standing a few feet away, watching, unable to point out their mistake in time. Barely got an apology, and everyone was too incompetent or unwilling to help me with any info about how to document or get evidence that they damaged it, and how to file a claim. Ended up having to 'suck it up' and accept the loss, otherwise I would have missed my flight. Fuck the TSA, fuck bullshit security theater, and fuck people that don't understand that you can make your best effort to protect yourself and your things, but sometimes that's not enough.
  - notliketherest 10y ago
    Shit happens.
js2 10y ago
I had an incident with TSA in Miami where I accidentally left my Macbook Air behind in the tray and flew home to Raleigh before I realized it was missing. So I called up MIA lost and found, identified the laptop by the neoprene case I keep it in, and was able to auhtorize having my father pick it up. He shipped it home to me. These stories mostly don't end poorly. The good outcomes just don't make the news because they are the expected outcome (as they should be). Tangent: I'm not a fan of the TSA, but I separate the organization from the individuals. Most TSA officers I've dealt with have been professional and pleasant. And since I always opt out, I've dealt with a lot of TSA officers.
geophile 10y ago
Well, I got groped by the TSA last week. You've got to keep a balanced view -- remember the good and the bad.
- waqf 10y ago
  What's the good? Creating employment without needing to go to the expense of having a competent system that looks after passengers' belongings (or their bodily integrity)?
jordache 10y ago
important to know it was a macbook pro and not a dell xps.
cestith 10y ago
Another PSA in addition to those in the article: keep your belongings in sight.
- chrismcb 10y ago
  The only time my belongings are out of my sight is when I go through security. The only time I am afraid, and fear for my safety, is when I go through security. The only time I am molested, is when I go through security. Good thing we are safe.
1024core 10y ago
In India (where I just was), the security guys give you a "token" (a number on a plastic paddle), and put one on the computer in the bin. So when you pick up the computer, they match the tokens to make sure it's you. Low-tech, but effective.
- JoelTheSuperior 10y ago
  Mumbai didn't do this but Jodhpur did. Was certainly a good system and I do now wonder why more airports don't do this.
chx 10y ago
Noone steals my ThinkPad T420s. There are advantages to a laptop older than my boots besides the excellent keyboard.
- GameOfTrolls 10y ago
  Well it has Gentoo and Mandrake at the boot manager.
__jal 10y ago
I had a laptop vanish at LGA a few years ago. Mostly the same story, down to the "sue us if you don't like it". And it was LGA, so the TSA "agents" were also assholes. I generally don't fly with a laptop anymore. I bring an (encrypted) drive and borrow a machine. Only had one occasion when they asked for the drive to be taken out of my bag. Considering current "security" at the border, I guess I need to buy an old feature phone as well for crossing the border. Although for fun, I'm very tempted to fill an old iPhone with choice commentary on what I think of the TSA.
peterwwillis 10y ago
Anecdote: A TSA agent took 20 minutes to begin searching my bag while my flight was about to leave. They finally finished it, I grabbed the bag and ran.... forgetting the bin with my wallet, keys, boarding pass, etc. I ran to the air shuttle, got to the terminal, only to realize I lost my stuff. Ran back to shuttle, ran to security, tried to be as "un-panicked" as possible and get a guard's attention rather than busting through security the wrong way. Finally got someone to talk to me and found out they had actually gone to my terminal to return my items to me. So I ran back to the shuttle, back to terminal, retrieved my items and got on the plane. I was told not to be so careless with my stuff. What I have learned is that if you actually unpack your entire bag into the bins in small clear ziplocks, they don't have to wait for a guy to open and search your bag. They just look at your shit in passing and you can go. Also, peanut butter is considered a cream and therefore cannot be taken on a plane in more than 3.4oz.... unless it's on a sandwich. Fucking TSA.
bobbles 10y ago
Isnt this actually the story of this random woman stealing this guys laptop? TSA just picks up the items and motions towards the queue with them, just because they point a laptop at you doesnt mean you claim it and walk off with it...

83 points by teslacar 10y ago

DanBC 10y ago

This got a lot of discussion a while ago here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11759741 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11759741

r00fus 10y ago

Should have a (2016) on the title.

strictnein 10y ago

> "Update, June 2: My computer is back! Scroll to the bottom for an update." The computer was gone for just under two weeks. Still really sucks, of course.

quasse 10y ago

I had an incident with the TSA in Austin where they silently removed my MacBook from the bin of my stuff and just wandered off with it. I was travelling for work so I was carrying two laptops, two tablets and some custom network hardware that all needed to be scanned. Luckily I wasn't too frazzled to notice that one laptop was missing from the bins, but it could have easily gone the way it did for the author here. I ended up having to walk around the checkpoint asking random agents if they had taken my laptop because no one thought it would be worth flagging me down or notifying me in some way that they had taken my property. In the end I spotted some random TSA goon messing around with it at a table all the way across the checkpoint.

ralfd 10y ago
And? You ended at the most interesting point: What happened then? What did he say when you approached him?
- quasse 10y ago
  It wasn't much of a climax, I was pretty annoyed at that point and he mumbled something about individual tests (probably he meant that little swab they do for explosives?) and then just handed it back without doing anything. I was pretty worked up because it was a brand new top spec MacBook Pro and I would have felt terrible explaining to work that I had lost it in an airport.
  - salesguy222 10y ago
    It's possible he was attempting to feign for the cameras that he was doing work on it, waiting for you to walk off, and then he would take it home. Or he's just severely incompetent when it comes to the honor and dignity that TSA agents should have when temporarily confiscating other people's items. I once had my hands swabbed at Raleigh Durham for a "random test" done by the TSA. The testing unit beeped very loudly and said my hands tested positive for explosive residue. I sat there "waiting for instructions" for 10 minutes until another colleague informed the person in charge, "oh yeah; that's been broken for weeks"

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

johansch 10y ago

I really only trust the Japanese airport security people to handle this stuff right. It's really not that hard, but you have to care and have pride in your job, so that cuts out most of the western countries' airport security staff people. Other nations should invest in CV/soft-AI systems.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

et-al 10y ago

I used to think stickers on Macbooks were a crime against their clean design. However when your entire office, or the airport security line, has a row of identical laptops, stickers become very useful in identification.

drpgq 10y ago
My Macbook fell off my desk and I ended up with a sizeable dent near the lit up Apple. At least I can recognize it now.

startupdiscuss 10y ago

I forgot my kindle in my rental car once, and I realized it after I was through TSA. The (very kind) TSA lady walked me back through security, to the rental counter, to get the keys to the car park, to retrieve the kindle, back to the rental counter and then back through security! Just wanted to put in a little positive for the TSA. edit: syntax

swanson 10y ago

Before you downvote or comment on the resolution (the laptop mixup was an accident and it was returned shortly after), take a look at the last comment thread: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11759741 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11759741 which was before it was returned. Interesting to observe the flood of comments about how it was a scam -- when it appears to have been much more innocent.

waqf 10y ago
It does sound like a scam, though. Creating a commotion to distract as many agents as possible and hold up the line is exactly how you would do this; and it's still unexplained why the woman accepted a MacBook that wasn't hers (did she have a MacBook too? If so why wasn't it found still at TSA?) The only evidence otherwise is that the laptop was returned — which could also be because the posting attracted so much publicity that the scammers thought they would be caught if the investigation continued. Or at least their modus operandi would become a "known scam", which makes it harder for them to operate.
- swanson 10y ago
  From the article, > She was with her friend. Her friend had the same computer (which we saw on the video). Her friend ran off to hold the plane at the gate. She thought her friend left her computer. Sat in a diff section of plane so couldn't communicate with her friend (so didn't know she had a duplicate computer), and flew to New York. Discovered the extra computer when they landed. 4 days later, got back to LA, and finally had time to open the computer and investigate, and saw my contact info on the login screen. Sounds like an honest mistake to me.

Exuma 10y ago

Well that was an enraging read. The passive aggressiveness of the last letter from the airline absolutely killed me. We fucked up all your shit, can't wait for you to fly with us again!

mintplant 10y ago

> Amazingly, this story ended well, but the only reason it did is that I set a custom lock screen message that included my contact info. If you are running OS X, I highly recommend that you do the same! This is such a great idea. On Windows 10 this inspired me to set my account profile image to a picture with my phone number and email address.

avenoir 10y ago
This got me thinking. I have BitLocker on my XPS. If the same thing happened to me while it's powered down i would be screwed.
- kamjam 10y ago
  Or, just wrote you name, number and email on some stickers and put them on the bottom of the laptop. It doesn't have to be high tech, and in this story the woman who took the laptop could have got in touch much sooner.
adviceadam 10y ago
Yeah that is a great feature. Just set it on my laptop. Had no idea that setting existed.

notliketherest 10y ago

Sorry but that's your fault for not keeping your eye on the laptop the entire time. I literally do not step to the scanner until it goes into the X ray, and then I keep an eye on it until it comes out.

netinstructions 10y ago
And when TSA agents pull you aside or ask you to go in a different scanner?
- glibgil 10y ago
  You refuse while never taking your eyes off your stuff. You make them bring you your stuff
magic_beans 10y ago
Right? I'm so paranoid about other passengers stealing my laptop that I have my eye on it every single possible second.
jungletek 10y ago
Sorry, but that's some victim-blaming bullshit. I had a laptop LCD destroyed by TSA when one of their lackeys idiotically pushed so many bins through the x-ray machine that it caused mine, and several others at the tail-end of the machine's conveyor, to fall right off. I was standing a few feet away, watching, unable to point out their mistake in time. Barely got an apology, and everyone was too incompetent or unwilling to help me with any info about how to document or get evidence that they damaged it, and how to file a claim. Ended up having to 'suck it up' and accept the loss, otherwise I would have missed my flight. Fuck the TSA, fuck bullshit security theater, and fuck people that don't understand that you can make your best effort to protect yourself and your things, but sometimes that's not enough.
- notliketherest 10y ago
  Shit happens.

js2 10y ago

I had an incident with TSA in Miami where I accidentally left my Macbook Air behind in the tray and flew home to Raleigh before I realized it was missing. So I called up MIA lost and found, identified the laptop by the neoprene case I keep it in, and was able to auhtorize having my father pick it up. He shipped it home to me. These stories mostly don't end poorly. The good outcomes just don't make the news because they are the expected outcome (as they should be). Tangent: I'm not a fan of the TSA, but I separate the organization from the individuals. Most TSA officers I've dealt with have been professional and pleasant. And since I always opt out, I've dealt with a lot of TSA officers.

geophile 10y ago

Well, I got groped by the TSA last week. You've got to keep a balanced view -- remember the good and the bad.

waqf 10y ago
What's the good? Creating employment without needing to go to the expense of having a competent system that looks after passengers' belongings (or their bodily integrity)?

jordache 10y ago

important to know it was a macbook pro and not a dell xps.

cestith 10y ago

Another PSA in addition to those in the article: keep your belongings in sight.

chrismcb 10y ago
The only time my belongings are out of my sight is when I go through security. The only time I am afraid, and fear for my safety, is when I go through security. The only time I am molested, is when I go through security. Good thing we are safe.

1024core 10y ago

In India (where I just was), the security guys give you a "token" (a number on a plastic paddle), and put one on the computer in the bin. So when you pick up the computer, they match the tokens to make sure it's you. Low-tech, but effective.

JoelTheSuperior 10y ago
Mumbai didn't do this but Jodhpur did. Was certainly a good system and I do now wonder why more airports don't do this.

chx 10y ago

Noone steals my ThinkPad T420s. There are advantages to a laptop older than my boots besides the excellent keyboard.

GameOfTrolls 10y ago
Well it has Gentoo and Mandrake at the boot manager.

__jal 10y ago

I had a laptop vanish at LGA a few years ago. Mostly the same story, down to the "sue us if you don't like it". And it was LGA, so the TSA "agents" were also assholes. I generally don't fly with a laptop anymore. I bring an (encrypted) drive and borrow a machine. Only had one occasion when they asked for the drive to be taken out of my bag. Considering current "security" at the border, I guess I need to buy an old feature phone as well for crossing the border. Although for fun, I'm very tempted to fill an old iPhone with choice commentary on what I think of the TSA.

peterwwillis 10y ago

Anecdote: A TSA agent took 20 minutes to begin searching my bag while my flight was about to leave. They finally finished it, I grabbed the bag and ran.... forgetting the bin with my wallet, keys, boarding pass, etc. I ran to the air shuttle, got to the terminal, only to realize I lost my stuff. Ran back to shuttle, ran to security, tried to be as "un-panicked" as possible and get a guard's attention rather than busting through security the wrong way. Finally got someone to talk to me and found out they had actually gone to my terminal to return my items to me. So I ran back to the shuttle, back to terminal, retrieved my items and got on the plane. I was told not to be so careless with my stuff. What I have learned is that if you actually unpack your entire bag into the bins in small clear ziplocks, they don't have to wait for a guy to open and search your bag. They just look at your shit in passing and you can go. Also, peanut butter is considered a cream and therefore cannot be taken on a plane in more than 3.4oz.... unless it's on a sandwich. Fucking TSA.

bobbles 10y ago

Isnt this actually the story of this random woman stealing this guys laptop? TSA just picks up the items and motions towards the queue with them, just because they point a laptop at you doesnt mean you claim it and walk off with it...