CHICAGO — If you’ve ever lost a suitcase at the airport, you know the frustration of parting with your valuables. How then would you feel if you knew the airport sold your lost baggage over the internet for $9.95 to social media users?
That’s how a new Facebook scam hopes to lure in unsuspecting victims, by posing as the “Luggage Department” at O’Hare International Airport and offering to sell them fully packed unclaimed baggage with the click of a button.
It’s totally bogus, local officials said.
“Fact check: No, we do not sell unclaimed bags,” O’Hare posted on its Facebook page. “An Internet scam is making the rounds on social media, promoting an opportunity to buy unclaimed luggage at O’Hare. It’s not true, and you should always contact your air carrier with questions about misplaced luggage.”
A spokesperson for the Chicago Department of Aviation said the post has also been shared with the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection and the Better Business Bureau in Chicago.
The ruse is on a Facebook page using the name “Luggage Department” — complete with an O’Hare logo and a cover photo featuring the airport.
“Get a suitcase with baggage for just 9,95$,” the sole post on the page reads. “Chicago O’Hare International Airport sale lost luggage that has been in store for more than 6 months. According to the regulations it has to be disposed, but we have decided to sell it for just 9,95$ each.
“To get all the details and participate, click on ‘Order’ button and take a moment to answer a few questions.”
The post includes a photo of a group of luggage at an airport’s baggage claim area with a sign that says “O’Hare Lost Baggage 9.95$.” There is a button at the bottom of the photo that says “Order” which takes users to a Slovakian website.
The comments section is filled with people asking if the sale is legit, to which other supposed profiles reply that they placed an order and even include photos of open luggage as “proof.”
Though on its face, the post may appear to be genuine, a little digging reveals some major red flags.
Many of the profiles of those touting their luggage haul appear to be fake, stolen, or brand-new profiles. The page claims to have a 4.8-star rating with over 1,162 reviews, although the “Luggage Department” page was just created on Dec. 30. The post itself is an ad that began on Wednesday. The luggage tags in the photo also show the abbreviation for Midway International Airport, not O’Hare. Plus, the post is riddled with grammatical errors.
What’s more, airports don’t sell fully packed unclaimed luggage directly to the public via social media. Baggage is handled by individual airlines, not the airport.
Most airlines hold the luggage for about 90 days while they try to track down the owner. Some perishable or hazardous items are disposed of, while some larger items, like vehicles, sometimes go to auction.
A popular place for unclaimed baggage in the United States to end up is the Unclaimed Baggage store in Scottsboro, Alabama, which has been around since 1970 and has purchasing agreements with airlines to buy unclaimed luggage. There, the baggage and its contents are sorted, cleaned, tested for working order, and are either resold, repurposed, or recycled. Customers can buy items in-store or online.
According to the shop, only about 0.03 percent of checked luggage is truly lost, the vast majority is reunited with its owner.
It’s not the first time this particular scam has made the rounds on social media. According to Consumer Affairs, the scam has also been seen in Ireland, Switzerland and Poland, as well as Dallas, Texas. Social media site “X,” formerly known as Twitter, even placed a disclaimer on a post alerting users that the claims were false.
It’s also not the only of its kind on Facebook — several other pages purporting to be associated with O’Hare also claim to offer unclaimed baggage sales for $9.95. Those pages were also created in late December.
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