Watch: Passenger Steals Money Out of Security Screening Bin

Italian police shared video of a security checkpoint at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport where a passenger clearing security absconded with envelopes full of cash.

A passenger proceeding through the checkpoint was carrying money, the police report, to cover medical expenses for a sick relative. He had cash, in envelopes, and placed them in a bin while he proceeded through the metal detector.

An older man behind him goes through another metal detector and comes back to collect x-rayed bags ahead of the first man. He sees the envelopes full of money and takes them. He stops for a moment to ponder his good fortune, grabs his own carry on bags, and heads off.

Now the first man is searching frantically for his money. But it’s gone. The thief must have known there would be video footage of the checkpoint and that people would come looking for him, so he dumped to cash in a restroom intending to pick it up later.

The thief was arrested. The money was recovered. And the Italian police didn’t even keep it for themselves. Watch:

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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  1. Rookie (traveler) mistake. Always put your wallet, cash, watches, etc. in backpack before going thru metal detector/scanner. Large sums of cash should have already been placed in envelope in the interior of your bag.

  2. The thief is a moron. To think about stealing something at a TSA type checkpoint which has to be the area with the most security camera coverage…it’s mind boggling. Might as well try to rob a bank without concealing your identity.

  3. Was the cash made of metal? Why did the man put envelopes of cash directly in the bins? How does he not keep an eye on envelopes of cash? Why does he not put the medical charges on a credit card to meet minimum spend? A fool and his money are soon parted.
    And the thief is a POS.

  4. “Italians being thieves” is a well founded stereotype because of ignorant people who keep saying something to justify their own prejudices!

  5. In the US, thanks to civil asset forfeiture, you should never travel with large amounts of cash period. When our cops steal your money, it’s totally legal, and they don’t even have to charge you with a crime, much less convict you. Sad to think that the Italian police are superior to ours in this way.

  6. @Jason Miller Actually there are widely reported stories of Italian police seizing money in the airport of passengers without any charges. Don’t know why you assume they don’t do such things in italy

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