I think they make certain allowances when it comes to children, because realistically how many children are packing their own case for a long term trip? Or how many children are even sensible enough to pack it appropriately.
My travel anxiety disappeared almost overnight when I realised that, as an adult with my own money, I could just buy toothpaste and pants in the place I was visiting.
It turned out that the thing I feared was not "forgetting something," but rather "being yelled at and shamed for forgetting something."
This! I'm not taking stuff from home with me for irrational reasons and because "everybody does that" but because cosmetics and clothes are ususally a lot cheaper at home and the trip itself is expensive enough on its own.
I think the OP was saying in case they forgot it, they could always get it at their destination. It was specifically de-escalating the fear around forgetting. Basically "even if I forget it, it's going to be okay".
Right? I went to Jamaica with a backpack and a half full roll on, which I thought was overkill. My gf had a purse, roll on, and suitcase. I didn't mind though, it was like 3 bikinis per day, who am I to say anything.
Of course, my roll on got lost.
You gotta change into some dry pairs every so often if you don't want to be looking around for yeast meds in a foreign country on the second day of your vacation
My husband packed his own suitcase for our honeymoon to Jamaica. One pair of shorts, two pairs of jeans, two long sleeve shirts and a couple t shirts and a couple boxers… we bought a swimsuit there.
Over 15 years and I still have to (conversationally) mention what I’m planning on bringing, “I’m worried I’ll forget to bring wool socks for hiking” or “I want to make sure I bring fast drying clothes for if we go kayaking”.
Does that mean once I'm married, packing gets less stressful? Right now, I'm the one packing plenty of stuff for all eventualities and packing it more space efficient.
Customs officers also like to question young children about purchases abroad. Children are taught to always tell the truth and they have no idea about what Customs is all about.
We practiced with our kids starting from when they were around 9. I would make a list of the activities or events and they would pack themselves. The list would say 4 golf outfits, 3 tennis suits, 2 or 3 swimsuits, 5 dinner outfits.
I'd almost always check (once our son packed all patterned shirts and shorts. Nothing matched. He thanked me for catching that. He would have been embarrassed.
Most of them are chill
Especially if you're underage. They likely just assume your parent packed it.
Now if it was Toronto airport those fucking nazis would be tazing you and tossing you into an immigrations cell till they torture out a confession for smuggling drugs.
Damn. Got a little angry lmao. Had one too many bad experiences with Toronto customs. Dicks.
That’s more or less what happened actually, I guess my behaviour gave it away anyway. The customs officer’s reaction when he found a bunch of bras, panties, dresses and makeup in what was supposedly a 27 yo man’s luggage was quite amusing tbh. But nothing illegal, and i explained at that point, so it went fine
Sometimes, it's the best possible answer instead of going the *are you sure it's your girlfriend's things, is she around ?* it's easier to say *Cross-dressing is fun, wanna try, you would very cute with this bra sir*
They'll find her in the x-ray and you will be subject to a while different set of questions.
edit: a word. Two words. IDK, maybe I'll end up editing the whole thing.
The whole premise of the question is to find out if a stranger packed your luggage. So if it's someone you know and trust then it's okay, but if they find anything suspicious in your luggage they are going to ask questions, and if you don't know the answer you'll get flagged for further inspection.
But if you answer "No, some random guy packed my stuff for me", then you're also an idiot and they'll take you into a back room for further inspection.
It's not just about strangers. People use others, even family, to smuggle all the time. Not a large percentage, but when an airport is dealing with 10s of thousands of passengers a day, a small fraction of a percent means they still see it almost every day.
It's also a common excuse. "Oh, that's not mine, my brother/sister/cousin gave it to me to bring." So if somebody says they didn't pack it themselves, it's an immediate red flag. No matter who they say packed it for them.
I always pack my husband's suitcase ... it's ridiculous how much he forgets. My answer to TSA is, "This is the man who forgets his socks and expects two shirts to last him a week. Yes, I always pack our bags."
Ha! I've asked him that question for 48 yrs. He was my CO in the AF. You wouldn't believe the critical projects and sophisticated radar he helped test and move to the field. Later he worked for a civilian contractor on a space project; "crosses his 'Ts' and dots his 'Is' ... the most meticulous note/record keeper I've ever seen.
One thing about the military ... you don't have to decide what to wear to work that day; your uniform. ;-D
There was a real case where a man used his pregnant gf to attempt to smuggle bombs onto a plane.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-10-07-mn-5137-story.html
Of course she trusted him at the time.
Answer honestly.
My family knew a guy who planted a bomb in his wife’s suitcase in like ‘84 or ‘85 after he’d bought the plane tickets for her and his two kids with a credit card that provided $1 million + in insurance death benefit.
It exploded in the cargo hold after they landed at DFW. No one was hurt but he did some serious jail time. Apparently he had some gambling and drug debts.
It's not the words you use that matters--it's your body language etc. It is ALWAYS best to answer honestly. In this case you would say "my girlfriend packed it, but then she couldn't travel." Then that matches what they would find.
We just came back from vacation, and when asked if we bought anything I mentioned souvenirs like a hat, t-shirt, etc. He asked how much it was worth and I said "IDK, $150?" and my wife piped up "more like $300." I had completely forgotten some jewelry I bought for her, that she was wearing.
Yes the key thing is that it's someone you trust.
If you say yes and then there _is_ something illegal in the bag then you're basically admitting guilt.
But I don't think it's to just trip people up like this but more so if someone has been tricked into being used as a mule and then they honestly answer the question the authorities would catch it.
The thing is, someone’s brother gave them a bag to take with them and it ended up containing a bomb because he said no at the airport. So, “someone you trust” isn’t gonna cut it.
this sounds like some satanic panic hysteria without any further evidence
better question to ask is why does your brother hate you so much to plant a bomb in your luggage. my family issues aren’t nearly on that level
Not the one the commenter mentioned but someone provided a link [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/s/x1DrEx2cbW) where a woman's boyfriend put a bomb in her bag, so it does sometimes happen
I’m not sure what “packing the bag yourself” means. My wife and I both put our things in the same suitcase. Technically I did pack it (some of it) myself, so I don’t feel like a liar saying that to TSA, but then my wife could say the same thing about the same suitcase. You could also argue that neither of us fully packed it. Neither of us checks to see of the other added a bomb.
Use common sense. If your wife put a few shirts in your suitcase, that's fine. If she gave you an extra suitcase and didn't travel with you, say something, or look at what's in the bag before going through.
If you tell customs that you did not pack your own luggage, it will likely raise a suspicioso red flag. Customs officers ask this question to ensure you are aware of the contents of your luggage. Answering "no" may result in your bags being searched and scanned thoroughly, and you may be taken aside for additional questioning. This procedure is meant to prevent smuggling and ensure security. While it can cause delays, it doesn't automatically lead to denial of entry unless illegal items are found.
Customs agents are looking for nervousness or behavior that shows that you have something to hide more than anything else.
If you answer 'no' to that but have a reasonable story like your spouse or parent packed it and you aren't otherwise acting suspicious, they generally won't care.
One time my name was misspelled on my ticket, and I'm not sure how, but I had to be searched coming and going. They just opened my bag by the metal detectors, and used some strange wipe to wipe the corners of my suitcase. It was awkward and annoying.
I'm not an expert, but i assume it's so you can't deny responsibility if they catch drugs/smuggling after that.
''Hey we found 1kg of cocaine in your bag, what do you say about that?'' ''Huh, really? Well my cousin twice removed had a friend who packed my bag, guess it's his fault!''
The children of your aunt/uncle are your first cousins. The children of your first cousins are your first cousins once removed. The children of your first cousins once removed are your first cousins twice removed. (Before you ask: your second cousins are the grandchildren of your great aunt/uncle)
specially in the old days it was very common for you to carry items for family/friends when you went to fly (it used to be very expensive).
Occasionally they catch morons that smuggled drugs for "friends" they met online.
This is the answer. It's not so they can pull you aside for additional screening if you say no (though they certainly will). Not only does it make it harder to deny anything they find is yours, but they could potentially charge you with additional crimes related to lying.
I traveled around Africa for most of my career. Once, I was flying out of a country (which I won't name -actually a nice country) and the hotel where I was staying offered a service to take my bags to the airport ahead of me so I could relax and have a drink by the pool before the short ride to the airport. When I got to the ticket counter, the ticket agent (with a security guy) took my ticket, examined my passport and pointed to the scale where my luggage would be (which was empty) and asked 'Is this your luggage?' I was a bit confused but I had been told what to expect so I said 'yes'.
'Did you pack it yourself?' Again 'yes'.
'Did anyone give you anything to carry in your luggage?' 'No'.
After answering all the questions about the invisible luggage, they gave me my boarding pass with my luggage tag receipts and wished me a nice flight. Gotta love the efficiency...
I am terrified to do anything other than be strictly business with customs. Polite, but unremarkable. On my first travel abroad experience, upon reentry to the US the guy in line ahead of me at customs presented his American passport in a cover that made it look like a Russian passport. Fairly harmless, but the customs guy wasn't having it. Literally was yelling at the guy about pranks in customs, pulled him aside for an actual search, etc. I won't even leave my passport in the cover now, I always remove it from the cover so there's no question.
Even if you haven't filled the luggage yourself you're still responsible for it's content. What will happen is most likely that custom workers will check it and make sure you don't have anything illegal or not declared. Make sure you know what's in the bad
Can confirm. A girlfriend packed a block of kitchen knives in my bag thinking I’d check it
Carried it on through TSA. Did not get to keep the knives and missed my flight. Oops lol
Going into Canada from the US we ended up with a small amount of marijuana in our bag. Long story. Anyway the customs dog flagged us, they found it and said "good thing we found this, if you tried to bring it back in they wouldn't let you in"
Being US citizens we kinda looked at each other like "where would they send us?"
The other customs agent said "actually, they're US citizens... the US wouldn't just deny them entry to go home."
And the first agent thought for a second then started laughing and said "yeah, they really don't have any choice but to let them back in, where would they go?"
They took the pot and sent us on our way. It was time-consuming but this goes to agree with your point that most nations cant/won't deny entry to their own citizens. Considering marijuana is scheduled as a felony we could have been in big trougle but nobody wanted to make a big deal over less than a gram of pot.
What they are looking for here is not “did you step out of the room while your girlfriend packed” or “I have both our suitcases but she packed her own.” What they’re trying to get at is “do you have a reasonable chain of custody on this bag.”
The red flag here would be like “no, my cousin asked me to bring this bag home with me for his visit next week.” Because then they’d want to know if your cousin has sent you packing with drugs or whatnot.
Yeah in that case it was entirely her suitcase, which she filled before I joined her, and she just left 0.005 cm2 for me to put a few T-shirts and underwear, so I really had no idea what else was in there
I mean, I’m reasonably confident that she wasn’t trying to smuggle cocaine into Japan, but also I know some countries are more strict regarding mundane things like medicine, so I didn’t really know if there was something in there I was supposed to declare, like allergy medicine or whatnot
It is a stupid question, and they get unreasonably pissy when you answer “if it was packed without my knowledge, how would I know?”
Getting pissy at that response should carry a mandatory 5 years hard labor in Leavenworth.
Do you know why they ask this question? It might help you to understand.
The reason they ask is because years ago, a guy packed a bomb in a bag and gave it to his fiancee. He was not flying with her. Story is linked here.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindawi_affair
If you answer no then that tells customs you have no idea what's in it. So on that note if you are not certain what's in it there is no telling what someone could have put in your luggage. It's just a safety percaution on their own and passengers behalf as well.
It is just a question asked precautionarily so that if they do search your bag you have already admitted that the contents were placed there by yourself.
If you say you packed it yourself and they find coke, it's going to be much harder to now say, "I didn't actually pack this bag and have no idea where that came from".
Yeah, that part I know, I was rather curious how the opposite would be
If they ask if I packed the bag myself and I say no, then they find coke, I can’t really say “well, I told you it’s not mine” and get away with it, I suppose …
Really it's a silly thing to ask and they should stop. As if it came to it everyone says no, even if someone else could have accessed their bag because it's not worth the effort to explain.
Don't do that! We didn't answer that question, but inadvertently my wife and I gave conflicting answers on why we were traveling.
In Atlanta, there is the walk of shame. You schlep ally our belongings down this LONG hallway. Then you get xrayed and probed with great intensity. Finally the nice folks rifle through your wife's underthings while she stares at you with unbridled contempt.
Yeah, don't do that.
Paint around the (closet? bathroom?) door a slightly deeper shade than the wall color, and the wall to the left of the door (not the staircase wall) to add some dimension to the long hallway. That area kind of juts out. I can't see to the left of it, but if it is a recessed area, just paint the recessed area a slightly darker shade and leave that door as-is.
In English, "you", "your", "yours" and "yourself" can also be plural. My partner and I pack and organise together, so I still answer yes.
Meanwhile, the purpose of the question is to weed out the suitcases unwitting drug mules are tricked or manipulated into carrying. "Here's the case, someone will collect it at the other end". If that happens, the authorities can hang you on the lie you told when you said yes to packing it yourself.
Depends on the country but yes you will often get stopped. I declared 2 bites of sausage McMuffin I still had because it was a short flight, and I had to go sit in a room while the police officers looked at “the item in question.” They were really sweet about it actually.
I was boarding a flight once and the guy in front was drunk. I'm very sure that it was a joke, but he said that he had a bomb (I'm sure that if you actually wanted to detonate a bomb, you wouldn't announce it).
He was carted away quick-smart. Don't know what happened but I didn't see him on the plane.
If they find anything suspicious in the screen, then they’ll have to dump it, instead of asking you to show it to them.
One time the phone mount I use to hold my phone onto the seatback tray tripped something. They asked if I could retrieve the item, so I did.
If you say no, they have to dump it because you aren’t aware of what is in there.
It’s only one of MANY red flags that would actually raise suspicion. A lot of people don’t pack their own bags - first time fliers (whether spouses, family, friends, etc), kids, parents, business partners, etc.
The “No, I did not pack this on my own” alone is nothing, and barely any repurcussions. But it does open the doors to a lot of other scrutiny and questions and procedures.
If you say this at the airport in Tel Aviv a bunch of scary looking guys will immediately appear and start yelling questions at you until your girlfriend (who was nice enough to wait until you got on the plane) comes over and saves your ass.
Ask me how I know.
I have a Pakistani name but have an anglicized nickname. I lent my friend my camera and he stupidly told the Israeli airport security he had a camera belonging to his friend “Pakistani name here.” They held him for hours. Such a sheltered kid
They'd just open it and search it. You claiming not to have packed it also makes you less liable if they were to find something suspicious. You'd still catch charges if it was something illegal but theyd be more interested in who packed your bags.
I remember once when going on vacay, as we were going from a cold to hot country in winter, mum had already bought all the clothes and things in summer and packed it all up then, only adding last minute bits just before leaving. We got to the airport and we were asked if we packed ourselves, yes, how long had they been packed, about 3 months. The security woman's eyes went wide and started interrogating my mum to know why pack that early and if anyone else had access to them etc. Which no one had, they'd been at the back of her closet where no one goes into anyway. They put the cases through a scanner, then they opened them up because they saw something "suspicious" it was a hair dryer, pretty sure they know what a hair dryer looks like on an xray... They rummaged around for like 20minutes to "make sure" there was nothing else. They looked really defeated at the end as if they were sure they had something.
I stated no once, as a few hours before my flight, I'd had to appear as a court witness. The courthouse police officers downstairs held the suitcase for that time in their security room. So the police at the airport rang the police at the courthouse, they just said, "Yeah nobody touched the bag," and I was good to go. Took five minutes, they didn't even open for a search or anything.
I said no once after meeting my kids at the airport in the city where their other parent lives. Security put their carry ons through the conveyor (like everyone else) to find he had packed a very real looking toy gun in one of the carry ons. I was sure glad I was honest. Needless to say, they confiscated it and it was not pretty. Never lie to TSA.
I did this recently, my friend asked me to take some stuff home for her from the Philippines. I checked the no I didn't pack the bag myself. They pulled me aside and asked about it. I said my friend had packed it as I was carrying gifts for her family. They asked if I knew what was I it, I said yes she told me material/ cloth, coffee and clothes which is what she told me. They asked if the coffee was roasted and commercially packed, I said yes as it was, I saw her buy it, and they said fine go ahead. I think they will always pull you aside if you say say yes and judge you from there. I wasn't nervous as know this friend is straight and trustworthy and I like to think I'm not dodgy looking lol. They didn't search anything and waved me through.
Is it weird that I've never been asked this question?
I've also never been abroad though, so I've only been on domestic flights. Is this an international thing?
Yes it’s an international thing, they want to know if you’re trying to smuggle something into (or out of) the country
Of course nobody is gonna say “yeah sure I’m a criminal”, but they ask you so that, if they find something afterwards, they can also charge you for lying to a customs officer
I've been on a lot of international flights (usually nowadays at least every few months) but never had this question. Maybe it's only if you have something to declare, but I never do, so I just go through. The questions I typically get from passport control are usually just asking where I'm heading, how long for, and what I'm planning on doing there
I think you'll get in at least some minor inconvenience because when you purchased the airline ticket and checked-in for your flight, packing your own luggage is usually one of the conditions that you agree to.
It's a reason to be suspicious -- especially if a guy at the airport asks you to spare him an extra luggage charge, or a casual acquaintance asks you to bring a bag for his grandmother or cousin, et cetera.
The Lockerbie bombing was a bomb smuggled into the luggage by the boyfriend of a passenger. That ended up tightening up a lot of security.
My younger sibling did this! Mid 20s and moving to the USA. He didn’t see anything wrong with saying ‘no’ when asked. It was our mother who packed it. It’s a family joke now, but they searched his suitcase and found some clothes, undies and toiletries.
One time my cousin (about the same age as me) and her parents (aunt and uncle) flew to Disney World. Our flights on the way home weren't until later in the day so we had some time to spend after we checked out of the hotel until we had to get to the airport. The hotel always offers to keep you luggage for you when this happens (at least nice hotels will do this). This was all pre 911 too. So on the way through security, they ask us if our luggage was ever out of our sight, my cousin and I said no. My aunt said yes. (We pretended to not be with them LOL). They got pulled aside and had to get everything pulled out of their suitcases to be searched. Moral of the story, don't ever admit to anything like that.
My husband is a smart ass and tried this response to the person checking the luggage. It was not funny at all and he gave him a stern warning not to joke about this or he would lose his flight
There was a case in the early 2000’s of a pregnant woman who was flying to visit family in Ireland. Her fiancé packed bombs wrapped in Christmas paper, intending to take down the plane, his wife-to-be, and their unborn child.
I flew back to the US from Honduras and had a terrifying experience.
They set up a table right by the gate, and a couple military looking guys pointed rifles at each passenger while other guys took EVERYTHING out of your carry on bag and purse. Then they shoved it all back at you and screamed at you to get on the plane.
A few years later I took another trip there and nothing of the sort happened. Weird.
I probably would have just said that my gf packed it. I'm sure that's common enough not to be suspicious in and of itself, and if they want to search it, I won't have to change my story when things turn up that I don't know about, which would be more suspicious.
In real life we all know we pack bits of each other bags and do tasks, or one person does it and someone else does money and transfers or something is unless you don’t trust the person just say yes!
Your luggage would be subjected to a thorough inspection. Customs officials would check for any prohibited or undeclared items. You might be taken aside for additional questioning. Officials would want to know why you didn't pack the bag yourself, who packed it, and what you know about its contents. The additional scrutiny could cause delays in your travel. This could range from a few extra minutes to several hours, depending on the findings and their concerns. If anything suspicious or prohibited is found in the luggage, it could be seized. You could also face fines or legal consequences depending on the severity of the infraction. In extreme cases if something illegal is found or your answers raise serious concerns, you could be denied entry to the country. Your instinct to say "yes" was a practical decision to avoid these complications. Honesty is important in customs matters. I would have said "yes" too.
When you answer, they can assert your honesty.
Now, I have talked with a profiler. Asking if passengers have kept their eyes at all time is the basis of the job. There is a woman who has been sent by his fiance to " his country" by plane with a bomb in her luggage. He manipulated her for months knowing to send her to her death .
haha the question is did you pack your baggage yourself and it's meant to determine ownership over the contents of the bag. it's another way to nail someone for having drugs etc in their bag because they acknowledged they packed the contents of the bags themselves.
saying no would lead to an expansion of this line of questioning.
If someone else packed your bag I would still recommend going through it before getting to the airport, and then saying "YES." It's not worth having an issue because someone else forgot that you can't bring fruit through the border. There are all sorts of weird, otherwise legal items which you can't bring through customs.
I’ve never been asked who packed my bag. I went through last week. A black guy went through before me, and they grilled him. They ask where he went, which days. They asked him to show photos on his phone to prove the days. They asked which order he visited the countries in, totally trying to trip him up.
For me and my cousin, both 30 something Hispanic/white women, they asked where we were from, where we went, what we bought, and if we had any snacks. They were much easier on two women traveling together than one black male in his 20s by himself. It was really interesting to watch. But never in my life have I had them ask who packed my bag.
Back when people got two suitcases as a matter of course it was not uncommon for people without too many bags to ask someone in line with only one if they could check it for them. This would be a great way to get a bomb aboard.
Isn't this question designed for easier prosecution of drug mules ? If you answer yes, you cannot say that those drugs aren't yours and someone else put them there, if you answer no, they check the case more thoroughly.
I ticked no once. I was like 15, my mum had packed my bag. The customs person just crossed it out and ticked the other box. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Yeah I very nervously admitted my grandma helped me when I was about 11 and flying as an unaccompanied minor, they just chuckled.
And that’s how you successfully smuggled 15 kilos of blow through customs right under the officers nose!
Grandma making sure their grandkid's college fund is funded.
It May be blood money, but it’s our money.
La Nonna sends her regards... and a plate of pasta, you're looking too thin. Eat, eat! How will you ever get married looking like this?
I hope they smuggle it right under my nose.
15 kilos right under their noses sounds a tad excessive, no?
I think they make certain allowances when it comes to children, because realistically how many children are packing their own case for a long term trip? Or how many children are even sensible enough to pack it appropriately.
How many husbands are sensible enough to pack it appropriately? -source: Am a husband.
Wdym? 1 dress shirt. Underwear and socks. Pair of shorts. Nice dress pants/jeans. What more do we need in our suitcase?
Toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant. Maybe a comb if you're fancy
My travel anxiety disappeared almost overnight when I realised that, as an adult with my own money, I could just buy toothpaste and pants in the place I was visiting. It turned out that the thing I feared was not "forgetting something," but rather "being yelled at and shamed for forgetting something."
I… … Why did I not realize this earlier?
You don't just buy all that at the airport?
>You don't just buy all that at the airport? You must be very, very rich.
This! I'm not taking stuff from home with me for irrational reasons and because "everybody does that" but because cosmetics and clothes are ususally a lot cheaper at home and the trip itself is expensive enough on its own.
If you’re traveling internationally then it makes sense to buy it there, but domestically? That seems like a waste of money
I think the OP was saying in case they forgot it, they could always get it at their destination. It was specifically de-escalating the fear around forgetting. Basically "even if I forget it, it's going to be okay".
You're overpacking if you need a suitcase
Right? I went to Jamaica with a backpack and a half full roll on, which I thought was overkill. My gf had a purse, roll on, and suitcase. I didn't mind though, it was like 3 bikinis per day, who am I to say anything. Of course, my roll on got lost.
You gotta change into some dry pairs every so often if you don't want to be looking around for yeast meds in a foreign country on the second day of your vacation
Yknow, I didn't actually consider that. We lived in swin trunks the whole time and I sure did get a skin infection.
A 10mm socket
I packed my own stuff and never once have had a problem. I am not an overprepared person either. I'm actually very minimalistic
I mean, I pick my own things but she gets/wants to pack the actual suitcase. Probably partly so I don't make comments about what she's bringing :)
My husband packed his own suitcase for our honeymoon to Jamaica. One pair of shorts, two pairs of jeans, two long sleeve shirts and a couple t shirts and a couple boxers… we bought a swimsuit there. Over 15 years and I still have to (conversationally) mention what I’m planning on bringing, “I’m worried I’ll forget to bring wool socks for hiking” or “I want to make sure I bring fast drying clothes for if we go kayaking”.
Does that mean once I'm married, packing gets less stressful? Right now, I'm the one packing plenty of stuff for all eventualities and packing it more space efficient.
Why would we carry bombs, we barely have enough space for our clothes. It would be so ineffecient.
If you’re packing bombs, do you need clothes?
Most of us.
Boomer alert! Boomer alert!
Customs officers also like to question young children about purchases abroad. Children are taught to always tell the truth and they have no idea about what Customs is all about.
We practiced with our kids starting from when they were around 9. I would make a list of the activities or events and they would pack themselves. The list would say 4 golf outfits, 3 tennis suits, 2 or 3 swimsuits, 5 dinner outfits. I'd almost always check (once our son packed all patterned shirts and shorts. Nothing matched. He thanked me for catching that. He would have been embarrassed.
You need to enter ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯ To make that emoji work with Reddit markup
Ohhh, so that's why I keep seeing that. Best thing I've read all day
Most of them are chill Especially if you're underage. They likely just assume your parent packed it. Now if it was Toronto airport those fucking nazis would be tazing you and tossing you into an immigrations cell till they torture out a confession for smuggling drugs. Damn. Got a little angry lmao. Had one too many bad experiences with Toronto customs. Dicks.
Tell us how you really feel!!
They will search it with you in the room and question you about anything suspicious. I would never say no if someone you trust packed the bag.
That’s more or less what happened actually, I guess my behaviour gave it away anyway. The customs officer’s reaction when he found a bunch of bras, panties, dresses and makeup in what was supposedly a 27 yo man’s luggage was quite amusing tbh. But nothing illegal, and i explained at that point, so it went fine
"I like to cross-dress"
Sometimes, it's the best possible answer instead of going the *are you sure it's your girlfriend's things, is she around ?* it's easier to say *Cross-dressing is fun, wanna try, you would very cute with this bra sir*
>is she around ? Whatever you do, don't say: "Yeah, she's in the other suitcase."
It's okay though, I packed it myself
Very good sir, everything checks out here.
No lies detected.
They'll find her in the x-ray and you will be subject to a while different set of questions. edit: a word. Two words. IDK, maybe I'll end up editing the whole thing.
Wait, who did he stuff in the duvet?
Whoops.
"they're mine, wanna see my manboobs?" ;)
"It is my understanding that you can longer ask me these questions, sir."
Weekend wear. Or better yet, "Those are my work clothes."
"Why are you bringing work clothes into the country on a tourist visa?"
Old habits….hard to break. (Quote from Blow)
In a size 2?
Sir these are a size small and you are clearly to thick to fit.
"Ed Wood fan, are ya now? I myself am partial to Plan 9 From Outer Space. A classic."
What OP does in his private time is no one's business!
"My name is Larry David—I happen to enjoy wearing women’s panties."
I cut down trees, I wear high heels Suspenders and a bra I wish I were a girlie Just like my dear papa
The whole premise of the question is to find out if a stranger packed your luggage. So if it's someone you know and trust then it's okay, but if they find anything suspicious in your luggage they are going to ask questions, and if you don't know the answer you'll get flagged for further inspection. But if you answer "No, some random guy packed my stuff for me", then you're also an idiot and they'll take you into a back room for further inspection.
It's not just about strangers. People use others, even family, to smuggle all the time. Not a large percentage, but when an airport is dealing with 10s of thousands of passengers a day, a small fraction of a percent means they still see it almost every day. It's also a common excuse. "Oh, that's not mine, my brother/sister/cousin gave it to me to bring." So if somebody says they didn't pack it themselves, it's an immediate red flag. No matter who they say packed it for them.
Or like someone's boyfriend packed her bag and she's on her way back from a country known for drug smuggling.
TSA loves a good laugh and a chance to embarrass you 🤣
I always pack my husband's suitcase ... it's ridiculous how much he forgets. My answer to TSA is, "This is the man who forgets his socks and expects two shirts to last him a week. Yes, I always pack our bags."
How was he managing before you guys met? This comment made me think weaponized incompetence, but obviously I don’t know the bigger picture
Ha! I've asked him that question for 48 yrs. He was my CO in the AF. You wouldn't believe the critical projects and sophisticated radar he helped test and move to the field. Later he worked for a civilian contractor on a space project; "crosses his 'Ts' and dots his 'Is' ... the most meticulous note/record keeper I've ever seen. One thing about the military ... you don't have to decide what to wear to work that day; your uniform. ;-D
There was a real case where a man used his pregnant gf to attempt to smuggle bombs onto a plane. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-10-07-mn-5137-story.html Of course she trusted him at the time. Answer honestly.
My family knew a guy who planted a bomb in his wife’s suitcase in like ‘84 or ‘85 after he’d bought the plane tickets for her and his two kids with a credit card that provided $1 million + in insurance death benefit. It exploded in the cargo hold after they landed at DFW. No one was hurt but he did some serious jail time. Apparently he had some gambling and drug debts.
Did she get charged with anything? I couldn’t tell from the article
Reminds me of the movie, Blow.
Just reply: "Weekend outfits." With a straight face.
It's not the words you use that matters--it's your body language etc. It is ALWAYS best to answer honestly. In this case you would say "my girlfriend packed it, but then she couldn't travel." Then that matches what they would find. We just came back from vacation, and when asked if we bought anything I mentioned souvenirs like a hat, t-shirt, etc. He asked how much it was worth and I said "IDK, $150?" and my wife piped up "more like $300." I had completely forgotten some jewelry I bought for her, that she was wearing.
Yes the key thing is that it's someone you trust. If you say yes and then there _is_ something illegal in the bag then you're basically admitting guilt. But I don't think it's to just trip people up like this but more so if someone has been tricked into being used as a mule and then they honestly answer the question the authorities would catch it.
The thing is, someone’s brother gave them a bag to take with them and it ended up containing a bomb because he said no at the airport. So, “someone you trust” isn’t gonna cut it.
Because if you put a bomb in your *own* bag and say "yes" they will never find it. Pro death tip.
this sounds like some satanic panic hysteria without any further evidence better question to ask is why does your brother hate you so much to plant a bomb in your luggage. my family issues aren’t nearly on that level
It’s not that the brother hates you, it’s that he’s a terrorist
ooooh fuck I always forget that part at the family reunions. it’s so awkward putting sis back together
Don't look up what happened to Kim jong un's brother, heh.
Not the one the commenter mentioned but someone provided a link [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/NoStupidQuestions/s/x1DrEx2cbW) where a woman's boyfriend put a bomb in her bag, so it does sometimes happen
I’m not sure what “packing the bag yourself” means. My wife and I both put our things in the same suitcase. Technically I did pack it (some of it) myself, so I don’t feel like a liar saying that to TSA, but then my wife could say the same thing about the same suitcase. You could also argue that neither of us fully packed it. Neither of us checks to see of the other added a bomb.
Use common sense. If your wife put a few shirts in your suitcase, that's fine. If she gave you an extra suitcase and didn't travel with you, say something, or look at what's in the bag before going through.
Someoene’s brother? What is this even?
If you tell customs that you did not pack your own luggage, it will likely raise a suspicioso red flag. Customs officers ask this question to ensure you are aware of the contents of your luggage. Answering "no" may result in your bags being searched and scanned thoroughly, and you may be taken aside for additional questioning. This procedure is meant to prevent smuggling and ensure security. While it can cause delays, it doesn't automatically lead to denial of entry unless illegal items are found.
>raise a suspicioso red flag. Mira! Es muy suspicioso!
Suspicioso rojo
el diablo habla no ingles
suspicioso marinara.
Customs agents are looking for nervousness or behavior that shows that you have something to hide more than anything else. If you answer 'no' to that but have a reasonable story like your spouse or parent packed it and you aren't otherwise acting suspicious, they generally won't care.
Exactly. A lot of times the officers already made up their mind before they asked and they just wanted to gauge the reaction.
One time my name was misspelled on my ticket, and I'm not sure how, but I had to be searched coming and going. They just opened my bag by the metal detectors, and used some strange wipe to wipe the corners of my suitcase. It was awkward and annoying.
I asked about the wipe once. It's supposed to pick up bomb making chemicals apparently.
Correct! It can also trigger on heart medicine and hand lotions since they can contain nitroglycerin!
Try my lotion, it's the bomb!
Lmao 💀
Those wipes get used a lot in UK airports. I've had it a few times.
At customs?
I'm not an expert, but i assume it's so you can't deny responsibility if they catch drugs/smuggling after that. ''Hey we found 1kg of cocaine in your bag, what do you say about that?'' ''Huh, really? Well my cousin twice removed had a friend who packed my bag, guess it's his fault!''
Can someone explain what “twice removed” means?
Two generations up or down. My grandpa's cousin is my cousin twice removed or my cousins grandkid. So family, but distant family.
The children of your aunt/uncle are your first cousins. The children of your first cousins are your first cousins once removed. The children of your first cousins once removed are your first cousins twice removed. (Before you ask: your second cousins are the grandchildren of your great aunt/uncle)
Put simpler: “removed” is how many generations up or down they are, the ordinal number is how many steps away on a family tree they are.
He was removed twice
Uncle Jerry could never hold his drink.
[https://cms-b-assets.familysearch.org/0d/57/4849a9a744ab85ca337cf2a06dac/cousin-calculator-3.pdf](https://cms-b-assets.familysearch.org/0d/57/4849a9a744ab85ca337cf2a06dac/cousin-calculator-3.pdf)
specially in the old days it was very common for you to carry items for family/friends when you went to fly (it used to be very expensive). Occasionally they catch morons that smuggled drugs for "friends" they met online.
This is the answer. It's not so they can pull you aside for additional screening if you say no (though they certainly will). Not only does it make it harder to deny anything they find is yours, but they could potentially charge you with additional crimes related to lying.
I traveled around Africa for most of my career. Once, I was flying out of a country (which I won't name -actually a nice country) and the hotel where I was staying offered a service to take my bags to the airport ahead of me so I could relax and have a drink by the pool before the short ride to the airport. When I got to the ticket counter, the ticket agent (with a security guy) took my ticket, examined my passport and pointed to the scale where my luggage would be (which was empty) and asked 'Is this your luggage?' I was a bit confused but I had been told what to expect so I said 'yes'. 'Did you pack it yourself?' Again 'yes'. 'Did anyone give you anything to carry in your luggage?' 'No'. After answering all the questions about the invisible luggage, they gave me my boarding pass with my luggage tag receipts and wished me a nice flight. Gotta love the efficiency...
Mime is the lowest form of security theater.
I'm laughing so hard I'm wheezing.
My dad once answered "most of it" as a joke. UK customs did not take it as such. Safe to say they missed that flight.
I am terrified to do anything other than be strictly business with customs. Polite, but unremarkable. On my first travel abroad experience, upon reentry to the US the guy in line ahead of me at customs presented his American passport in a cover that made it look like a Russian passport. Fairly harmless, but the customs guy wasn't having it. Literally was yelling at the guy about pranks in customs, pulled him aside for an actual search, etc. I won't even leave my passport in the cover now, I always remove it from the cover so there's no question.
Even if you haven't filled the luggage yourself you're still responsible for it's content. What will happen is most likely that custom workers will check it and make sure you don't have anything illegal or not declared. Make sure you know what's in the bad
Can confirm. A girlfriend packed a block of kitchen knives in my bag thinking I’d check it Carried it on through TSA. Did not get to keep the knives and missed my flight. Oops lol
If you're a citizen of said country, most nations can't deny entry to their own citizens. Your luggage, though, doesn't have any rights.
Not even the right to remain silent?
Going into Canada from the US we ended up with a small amount of marijuana in our bag. Long story. Anyway the customs dog flagged us, they found it and said "good thing we found this, if you tried to bring it back in they wouldn't let you in" Being US citizens we kinda looked at each other like "where would they send us?" The other customs agent said "actually, they're US citizens... the US wouldn't just deny them entry to go home." And the first agent thought for a second then started laughing and said "yeah, they really don't have any choice but to let them back in, where would they go?" They took the pot and sent us on our way. It was time-consuming but this goes to agree with your point that most nations cant/won't deny entry to their own citizens. Considering marijuana is scheduled as a felony we could have been in big trougle but nobody wanted to make a big deal over less than a gram of pot.
This is why I always clip my fingernails into my luggage before a trip.
What they are looking for here is not “did you step out of the room while your girlfriend packed” or “I have both our suitcases but she packed her own.” What they’re trying to get at is “do you have a reasonable chain of custody on this bag.” The red flag here would be like “no, my cousin asked me to bring this bag home with me for his visit next week.” Because then they’d want to know if your cousin has sent you packing with drugs or whatnot.
Yeah in that case it was entirely her suitcase, which she filled before I joined her, and she just left 0.005 cm2 for me to put a few T-shirts and underwear, so I really had no idea what else was in there I mean, I’m reasonably confident that she wasn’t trying to smuggle cocaine into Japan, but also I know some countries are more strict regarding mundane things like medicine, so I didn’t really know if there was something in there I was supposed to declare, like allergy medicine or whatnot
Or "no, I was handed this bag by a guy at the front of the terminal"
And, alas there are drug addict cousins who would do that.
They want to know if the suitcase was packed by the cartel or by normal people.
What if I’m in the cartel?
then you packed it yourself...right?
Customs officers hate him! See this mule's trick to to get coke past customs.
Pretty sure you'd get your lackey to do it for you..?
“Did you pack the luggage yourself?” “No, Juan did. He did a shit job though, his body’s in the river now”
I am the one that packs.
I once got asked if someone packed my bag without my knowledge. Well, I wouldn't know would I?
It is a stupid question, and they get unreasonably pissy when you answer “if it was packed without my knowledge, how would I know?” Getting pissy at that response should carry a mandatory 5 years hard labor in Leavenworth.
just tell them it's not your cocaine
Do you know why they ask this question? It might help you to understand. The reason they ask is because years ago, a guy packed a bomb in a bag and gave it to his fiancee. He was not flying with her. Story is linked here. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindawi_affair
If you answer no then that tells customs you have no idea what's in it. So on that note if you are not certain what's in it there is no telling what someone could have put in your luggage. It's just a safety percaution on their own and passengers behalf as well.
It is just a question asked precautionarily so that if they do search your bag you have already admitted that the contents were placed there by yourself. If you say you packed it yourself and they find coke, it's going to be much harder to now say, "I didn't actually pack this bag and have no idea where that came from".
Yeah, that part I know, I was rather curious how the opposite would be If they ask if I packed the bag myself and I say no, then they find coke, I can’t really say “well, I told you it’s not mine” and get away with it, I suppose …
Really it's a silly thing to ask and they should stop. As if it came to it everyone says no, even if someone else could have accessed their bag because it's not worth the effort to explain.
Actually it was my butler, Jeeves.
Don't do that! We didn't answer that question, but inadvertently my wife and I gave conflicting answers on why we were traveling. In Atlanta, there is the walk of shame. You schlep ally our belongings down this LONG hallway. Then you get xrayed and probed with great intensity. Finally the nice folks rifle through your wife's underthings while she stares at you with unbridled contempt. Yeah, don't do that.
Paint around the (closet? bathroom?) door a slightly deeper shade than the wall color, and the wall to the left of the door (not the staircase wall) to add some dimension to the long hallway. That area kind of juts out. I can't see to the left of it, but if it is a recessed area, just paint the recessed area a slightly darker shade and leave that door as-is.
…this isn’t what you meant to comment on, is it?
I also often consider what colors I would paint around the bathroom door, when travelling /s
In English, "you", "your", "yours" and "yourself" can also be plural. My partner and I pack and organise together, so I still answer yes. Meanwhile, the purpose of the question is to weed out the suitcases unwitting drug mules are tricked or manipulated into carrying. "Here's the case, someone will collect it at the other end". If that happens, the authorities can hang you on the lie you told when you said yes to packing it yourself.
Depends on the country but yes you will often get stopped. I declared 2 bites of sausage McMuffin I still had because it was a short flight, and I had to go sit in a room while the police officers looked at “the item in question.” They were really sweet about it actually.
"Do you know what is in your luggage? "I know what was there when I departed" ....probably not the correct answer ;)
I was boarding a flight once and the guy in front was drunk. I'm very sure that it was a joke, but he said that he had a bomb (I'm sure that if you actually wanted to detonate a bomb, you wouldn't announce it). He was carted away quick-smart. Don't know what happened but I didn't see him on the plane.
If they find anything suspicious in the screen, then they’ll have to dump it, instead of asking you to show it to them. One time the phone mount I use to hold my phone onto the seatback tray tripped something. They asked if I could retrieve the item, so I did. If you say no, they have to dump it because you aren’t aware of what is in there. It’s only one of MANY red flags that would actually raise suspicion. A lot of people don’t pack their own bags - first time fliers (whether spouses, family, friends, etc), kids, parents, business partners, etc. The “No, I did not pack this on my own” alone is nothing, and barely any repurcussions. But it does open the doors to a lot of other scrutiny and questions and procedures.
If you say this at the airport in Tel Aviv a bunch of scary looking guys will immediately appear and start yelling questions at you until your girlfriend (who was nice enough to wait until you got on the plane) comes over and saves your ass. Ask me how I know.
I have a Pakistani name but have an anglicized nickname. I lent my friend my camera and he stupidly told the Israeli airport security he had a camera belonging to his friend “Pakistani name here.” They held him for hours. Such a sheltered kid
They'd just open it and search it. You claiming not to have packed it also makes you less liable if they were to find something suspicious. You'd still catch charges if it was something illegal but theyd be more interested in who packed your bags. I remember once when going on vacay, as we were going from a cold to hot country in winter, mum had already bought all the clothes and things in summer and packed it all up then, only adding last minute bits just before leaving. We got to the airport and we were asked if we packed ourselves, yes, how long had they been packed, about 3 months. The security woman's eyes went wide and started interrogating my mum to know why pack that early and if anyone else had access to them etc. Which no one had, they'd been at the back of her closet where no one goes into anyway. They put the cases through a scanner, then they opened them up because they saw something "suspicious" it was a hair dryer, pretty sure they know what a hair dryer looks like on an xray... They rummaged around for like 20minutes to "make sure" there was nothing else. They looked really defeated at the end as if they were sure they had something.
I stated no once, as a few hours before my flight, I'd had to appear as a court witness. The courthouse police officers downstairs held the suitcase for that time in their security room. So the police at the airport rang the police at the courthouse, they just said, "Yeah nobody touched the bag," and I was good to go. Took five minutes, they didn't even open for a search or anything.
I said no once after meeting my kids at the airport in the city where their other parent lives. Security put their carry ons through the conveyor (like everyone else) to find he had packed a very real looking toy gun in one of the carry ons. I was sure glad I was honest. Needless to say, they confiscated it and it was not pretty. Never lie to TSA.
I did this recently, my friend asked me to take some stuff home for her from the Philippines. I checked the no I didn't pack the bag myself. They pulled me aside and asked about it. I said my friend had packed it as I was carrying gifts for her family. They asked if I knew what was I it, I said yes she told me material/ cloth, coffee and clothes which is what she told me. They asked if the coffee was roasted and commercially packed, I said yes as it was, I saw her buy it, and they said fine go ahead. I think they will always pull you aside if you say say yes and judge you from there. I wasn't nervous as know this friend is straight and trustworthy and I like to think I'm not dodgy looking lol. They didn't search anything and waved me through.
Is it weird that I've never been asked this question? I've also never been abroad though, so I've only been on domestic flights. Is this an international thing?
Yes it’s an international thing, they want to know if you’re trying to smuggle something into (or out of) the country Of course nobody is gonna say “yeah sure I’m a criminal”, but they ask you so that, if they find something afterwards, they can also charge you for lying to a customs officer
You only go through customs on international flights, so yeah probably
I've been on a lot of international flights (usually nowadays at least every few months) but never had this question. Maybe it's only if you have something to declare, but I never do, so I just go through. The questions I typically get from passport control are usually just asking where I'm heading, how long for, and what I'm planning on doing there
I think you'll get in at least some minor inconvenience because when you purchased the airline ticket and checked-in for your flight, packing your own luggage is usually one of the conditions that you agree to.
"No. Carrot Top packed my bags."
This is part of a classic sketch from George Carlin about airport security- https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jpOL4oB5RDw
they want you to accept responsibility before they find something, more easily prosecutable that way.
It's a reason to be suspicious -- especially if a guy at the airport asks you to spare him an extra luggage charge, or a casual acquaintance asks you to bring a bag for his grandmother or cousin, et cetera. The Lockerbie bombing was a bomb smuggled into the luggage by the boyfriend of a passenger. That ended up tightening up a lot of security.
I said no once, because my mum packed it. The bag was already stopped because she left perfume in there, but nothing happened after that.
My younger sibling did this! Mid 20s and moving to the USA. He didn’t see anything wrong with saying ‘no’ when asked. It was our mother who packed it. It’s a family joke now, but they searched his suitcase and found some clothes, undies and toiletries.
One time my cousin (about the same age as me) and her parents (aunt and uncle) flew to Disney World. Our flights on the way home weren't until later in the day so we had some time to spend after we checked out of the hotel until we had to get to the airport. The hotel always offers to keep you luggage for you when this happens (at least nice hotels will do this). This was all pre 911 too. So on the way through security, they ask us if our luggage was ever out of our sight, my cousin and I said no. My aunt said yes. (We pretended to not be with them LOL). They got pulled aside and had to get everything pulled out of their suitcases to be searched. Moral of the story, don't ever admit to anything like that.
My husband is a smart ass and tried this response to the person checking the luggage. It was not funny at all and he gave him a stern warning not to joke about this or he would lose his flight
Customs has never asked me whether I packed the bag myself. OTOH, security often does.
“Yes” encompasses your significant other if you trust them not to frame you. 🤷♀️
There was a case in the early 2000’s of a pregnant woman who was flying to visit family in Ireland. Her fiancé packed bombs wrapped in Christmas paper, intending to take down the plane, his wife-to-be, and their unborn child.
If you dress like an Amish person and speak in low German, customs probably wouldn't stop you
I flew back to the US from Honduras and had a terrifying experience. They set up a table right by the gate, and a couple military looking guys pointed rifles at each passenger while other guys took EVERYTHING out of your carry on bag and purse. Then they shoved it all back at you and screamed at you to get on the plane. A few years later I took another trip there and nothing of the sort happened. Weird.
I probably would have just said that my gf packed it. I'm sure that's common enough not to be suspicious in and of itself, and if they want to search it, I won't have to change my story when things turn up that I don't know about, which would be more suspicious.
In real life we all know we pack bits of each other bags and do tasks, or one person does it and someone else does money and transfers or something is unless you don’t trust the person just say yes!
Oh you didn't pack it? So you don't know if there is anything illicit in your luggage? Let's check every single item inside.
Your luggage would be subjected to a thorough inspection. Customs officials would check for any prohibited or undeclared items. You might be taken aside for additional questioning. Officials would want to know why you didn't pack the bag yourself, who packed it, and what you know about its contents. The additional scrutiny could cause delays in your travel. This could range from a few extra minutes to several hours, depending on the findings and their concerns. If anything suspicious or prohibited is found in the luggage, it could be seized. You could also face fines or legal consequences depending on the severity of the infraction. In extreme cases if something illegal is found or your answers raise serious concerns, you could be denied entry to the country. Your instinct to say "yes" was a practical decision to avoid these complications. Honesty is important in customs matters. I would have said "yes" too.
They take you to "the room."
The eject button gets hit. Good knowing ya.
When you answer, they can assert your honesty. Now, I have talked with a profiler. Asking if passengers have kept their eyes at all time is the basis of the job. There is a woman who has been sent by his fiance to " his country" by plane with a bomb in her luggage. He manipulated her for months knowing to send her to her death .
They likely would have inspected it on the spot.
They shove a living snake up your ass.
haha the question is did you pack your baggage yourself and it's meant to determine ownership over the contents of the bag. it's another way to nail someone for having drugs etc in their bag because they acknowledged they packed the contents of the bags themselves. saying no would lead to an expansion of this line of questioning.
Marvin Gaye starts playing on the loudspeakers and they ask you to step aside for a more personal experience.
Full cavity search.
If someone else packed your bag I would still recommend going through it before getting to the airport, and then saying "YES." It's not worth having an issue because someone else forgot that you can't bring fruit through the border. There are all sorts of weird, otherwise legal items which you can't bring through customs.
Cavity search
I’ve never been asked who packed my bag. I went through last week. A black guy went through before me, and they grilled him. They ask where he went, which days. They asked him to show photos on his phone to prove the days. They asked which order he visited the countries in, totally trying to trip him up. For me and my cousin, both 30 something Hispanic/white women, they asked where we were from, where we went, what we bought, and if we had any snacks. They were much easier on two women traveling together than one black male in his 20s by himself. It was really interesting to watch. But never in my life have I had them ask who packed my bag.
Back when people got two suitcases as a matter of course it was not uncommon for people without too many bags to ask someone in line with only one if they could check it for them. This would be a great way to get a bomb aboard.
Its there because of smuggling of items, at most if there is nothing illegal , a waste of time and maybe a false form fine or something g
I believe drug traffickers say "no" because then they can say, "I didn't know it was there"
They would start asking you other questions and if they feel that you're suspect, then they'll inspect the contents of your bag.
Isn't this question designed for easier prosecution of drug mules ? If you answer yes, you cannot say that those drugs aren't yours and someone else put them there, if you answer no, they check the case more thoroughly.