The short version: the realistic risks when you travel are, in order, opportunistic pickpocketing, leaving something behind, and lost luggage. Electronic card skimming is real but rare and largely mitigated by chip-and-PIN and tokenised phone payments. Buy accordingly.
We sell RFID-blocking wallets. We are also going to tell you honestly what they do and do not do, because a customer who buys the wrong thing for the wrong reason does not come back.
RFID blocking: what it actually does
Contactless cards and e-passports contain a chip that responds to a radio signal at very short range. An RFID-blocking wallet contains a metallic layer that stops that signal reaching the chip.
What that genuinely prevents: a reader held within a few centimetres of your pocket waking your card or passport chip.
What it does not prevent: card-not-present fraud, skimming at a compromised ATM or payment terminal, phishing, or a data breach at a retailer. Those account for the overwhelming majority of real card fraud.
Our honest position: RFID blocking is a sensible feature to have in a wallet you were buying anyway, and it is genuinely worth it for a passport cover, because a passport chip carries identity data you cannot cancel and reissue as easily as a card. It is not a reason on its own to replace a wallet you like. The Carbon-Fiber RFID Wallet and the RFID Leather Wallet with AirTag Slot both include it as part of the build rather than as the pitch.
TSA locks: when they help
A TSA-approved lock has a keyway that screeners in the United States can open with a master key, inspect the bag, and re-lock. Without one, a screener who needs to open your case will cut the lock off.
- Worth it on: anything you check, especially on connecting itineraries.
- Not worth it on: a carry-on that never leaves your side.
- What it does not do: stop a determined thief. Any zipper can be opened with a ballpoint pen and re-zipped. A lock is a deterrent and a tamper indicator, not a safe.
Buy a set-your-own-combination model like the TSA-Approved Suitcase Lock rather than a keyed one — keys get lost mid-trip, combinations do not.
Trackers changed lost luggage more than anything else
This is the genuine shift of the last few years. Airlines have historically told passengers a bag was "in the system" while the passenger could see on their phone that it was in a different country. Being able to say where the bag is changes the conversation entirely.
Put a tracker inside every checked bag, and consider one in your passport wallet — the RFID Passport Wallet with Tracker Slot and RFID Leather Wallet with AirTag Slot have a dedicated slot. A tracker on the outside of a bag is a tracker that gets removed.
The risks that actually happen
- Distraction theft. Someone spills something, drops something, asks for directions, or crowds you on a train. Your bag opens while you are looking elsewhere. The defence is a bag that closes properly and sits in front of you in crowds — not a special fabric.
- Leaving things behind. Statistically far more common than theft. Hotel safes, seat pockets and security trays account for enormous numbers of lost passports and laptops. The defence is a habit: same pocket, every time.
- Bag mishandling. Not theft, just logistics. The defence is a tracker, a photograph of your packed bag, and a change of clothes in your carry-on.
- Vehicle key relay theft at home. Worth a mention because it is the one genuine Faraday-pouch use case — thieves amplify the signal from a key fob inside your house to unlock a car outside. The RFID Key-Protector Pouch blocks it.
What we would skip
- Slash-proof everything. Bag-slashing is vanishingly rare in the destinations most of our clients visit. Buy it if you are going somewhere it genuinely happens; do not buy it by default.
- Money belts worn under clothing for daily use. Retrieving cash from one in public defeats the point. Use one for the emergency reserve you hope not to touch.
- Anything sold primarily through fear. If the product page spends more words on the threat than on the product, be suspicious.
Common questions
Do I need an RFID passport cover?
It is the strongest case for RFID blocking, because passport data is harder to replace than a card. A sleeve set costs very little.
Are TSA locks required?
No. They simply mean your lock survives an inspection. Outside the US, screeners may not have TSA keys.
Should I lock my carry-on?
Only if it might get gate-checked. Then, yes.
What is the one thing you would tell every traveller?
Photograph your passport, your packed bag and your luggage tag before you leave, and email them to yourself. It costs two minutes and it is the single most useful thing you can do if something goes wrong.
Written by the advisors at WB Travel Associates, a travel agency in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Browse Security & Organization.
