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Breaking into a Suitcase with a Ballpoint Pen and What You Can Do About It

ITS Tactical / Imminent Threat Solutions
Demos
YouTube
Cited on HN 5 times, 2015–2016, never outright recommended score 0
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

Cited in TSA luggage-lock threads to show that locks on zippered bags offer little real security.

ITS Tactical demonstrates how a ballpoint pen can open a zippered suitcase without leaving a trace, bypassing its lock, and suggests countermeasures.

“Most bags can be opened and closed with a ball point pen WITHOUT A TRACE completely bypassing any locks.” (HN, 2015)

5 citations · Demos

5 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@chiph Sep 2015 Cites it
on HN thread TSA Master Keys
So use a ballpoint pen on the zipper. You jam it in the nylon teeth so they separate, and you can loot the bag. Afterwards, use the zipper pull to heal the teeth and there's no trace you were in there. [this video] To counter this (and unauthorized use of a TSA key), wrap your bag in industrial cling-wrap plastic. You should also go right to baggage claim when you land. Most airports don't have someone looking at the bag claim receipts, so thieves can walk right out with a bag.
Demonstrates opening zippers with a pen without trace.

Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.

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