I had purchases stolen from my bags coming from Paris in 2000. And I have had locks broken off my suitcase before 2001. I don't lock bags any more and I put anything I purchase in my carry-on luggage.

I'm not sure what good it does to have a lock that can be cut open just so you can tell if anyone opened your bag. I could tell someone had opened my bag because my stuff was missing, but that didn't do me any good.

<<<Does that mean inspectors in each European country also know how to do this. If this is how they work, it's not much of a secret. Do they have a special apparatus to open the locks?>>>

Outside the US locked bags are the norm (London's main airport wasn't nicknamed "thiefro"w for nothing)

And yes customs inspectors do have means for opening locks that you'll find on bags. Perhaps we could sell the US some?

The reason I suggest that bags be locked is to prevent opportunistic pilfering. It will not stop all pilfering. If unauthorized lock breaking occurs, the airport authorities and TSA would presumably be interested in knowing it.

Locking or securing your suitcase some other way can't stop a determined thief, but it can make the casual thief skip over your suitcase and it can reduce the incidence of accidental opening.

I use "brightly colored" electrical wire ties (of all the same color) to secure the zippers on my checked bags.

The inspectors, should they open your bag, will secure it after opening with the "off- white" color tie.

I know immediately, as my bag comes off the carousel, if it has been opened or not. If any of the wire ties do not match the color of the ones I had put on the bags, then I know the bag was opened. I can then check "before" I leave the baggage claim area to determine if it was opened by "security" (note inside),or by a "pilferer".

This year, I have had bags opened on route to Europe (On the way to Zurich---legal security search. On the way back from Paris---someone decided to help themselves to some of our possessions. The color coordinating of the wire ties helped me prove my case of theft.)

I also use luggage straps with the 4 digit locking code to secure the center of the bag, as an extra precaution. None of them have ever be cut or removed during domestic or international travel.

We use combination locks and name straps secured around the case under the handle. So far as I know, our cases have never been opened, officially or "unoffically". Touch wood!

Not any more. The one time I did my CD player was stolen.