Mueller confirms that airlines see the TSA as a big part of the problem: “After the TSA took over back in 2001, my pilferage claims quadrupled,” he says. Before the TSA came into the game, passengers’ bags could be opened by another party only if a law-enforcement officer was present. His counterparts at other carriers have reported similar findings, he says, and in a 2002 meeting in Washington, D.C., they demanded that the TSA crack down on rogue employees. It is not clear what the agency has done since that time to solve the problem, but it has agreed to investigate and settle any claims that arise.