NEVER EVER put valuables in checked bags. I’ve had stuff stolen and learned my lesson.
Nothing but union thugs working the luggage.
The tsa uses the xray machines to see if there is anything in your bag worth stealing.
I had a flat piece of metal stolen. A sample of a piece of metal with a special coating of paint. Not really valuable, but stolen just the same. Guess some tsa goon wanted something shiny. Should have coated it with itching powder or habanero pepper oil. Would make their next trip to the little thugs room rather interesting.
Just be prepared and don’t pack anything that you can afford to have lifted.
Easy to say, but hard to do. If the stuff had no value I wouldn't bother to haul it around in luggage. I agree about small high-dollar things like jewelry, but all of us have to pack along some pretty valuable stuff from time to time. I always take a few knives, tools, an ASP baton and some other gizmos everywhere I travel, and I have no choice but to put them in checked baggage. I've never had anything stolen, but I know it's a possibility.