Don’t throw away your baggage tag at the the airport, here’s why:

Mass. — Criminals may be eyeing your baggage claim tags when you throw them away.

So why is this bad?

First, the person who took it now has your personal information. Sure, it’s not your Social Security number or bank account, but it could be your name, flight, and sometimes even membership number.

“In the grand scheme of things, there are a lot more scalable types of scams, fraud, and identity crimes going on out there. But why make it easy? Why make yourself the low-hanging fruit?” Eva Velasquez, with the Identity Theft Resource Center, said. “It’s amazing to me how creative, and I don’t mean that as a compliment, but how creative these fraudsters are because, with very little information about you, they can generally find a way to monetize that.”

The ITRC helps consumers on the front end by giving advice so they can avoid falling victim to ID theft, but also on the back end by helping victims with recovery.

Second, the scammers may submit a claim for damaged or lost luggage, and try to trick the airline in your name.

“I’m glad to know that… never heard that one,” passenger Yvonne Green said.

“People are so clever. They’re always thinking of new things,” passenger Ashley Green said.

Third, this could hurt passengers with legitimate luggage claims because the fraudulent ones clog the system.

Someone posted on social media, saying they were a Delta baggage claims manager, saying, “We are getting an influx of fraudulent claims ... for reimbursement. From my own personal experience in currently dealing with this it is causing issue with reimbursing the real people if they submit a legitimate claim.”

She would like airports to have trash cans where you can’t fish anything out. “But that would require a level of effort, a coordinated effort amongst the airlines and the airports,” she added.

Until then, the best advice: Don’t throw the tags away at the airport or even hotel. Wait until you’re back home and shred them if you can. Same goes for your boarding pass. Treat anything with your personal information like your credit card bill.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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