A travel influencer has shared a warning about the simple way thieves can break into your suitcase.
Sarah Adekola uploaded a TikTok video advising users how to choose “the best luggage” with the words “stop people stealing your stuff with a pen today,” written across it.
Ms Adekola captioned the post “know this before you travel,” and starts by warning travellers about suitcases with zips.
“First, never pick suitcases with zippers like this because people are literally stealing your stuff with just a pen,” she warns.
Outlining why this can be a risk, Ms Adekola says: “Basically what people are doing is they’re taking their pen and they are literally just pushing in between there,” she says in the video, while showing viewers what she means.
Explaining this is how thieves can break into a suitcase, Ms Adekola continues: “And they’re getting into your suitcase. Then what they do is when you have a padlock they are going to go over it (the hole) and you would never know.”
However, she suggests that it is “much harder” for a thief to ”puncture into” a suitcase with an invisible zipper using a pen.
Alternatively, Ms Adekola recommends, “you could go for a suitcase without any zippers.”
In terms of looking at suitcase material, the TikToker also says as a general rule she would always go for a harder case rather than fabric “because these are waterproof and that means your clothes aren’t going to get damaged.”
Plus, “I would also go for suitcase brands that give me a lifetime warranty or at least five years,” Ms Adekola adds.
Summarising with one last suitcase hack, Ms Adekola says, “Last but not least, I would always go for a suitcase with four wheels. It’s so much easier to move,” she finishes, outlining that “smart people” flip the suitcase onto its back wheels so it can be wheeled along more easily.
