[aguasin]

Most people probably already know, but I thought I'd relay my experience of going through Melbourne Airport recently after spending about 2 years travelling.

I landed into Melbourne airport and innocently decided to declare my prescription medicine, and was immediately questioned about my past travel destinations. I had my phone seized, it's entire contents searched, my camera, and the same for my laptop. That resulted in a 3 hour delay and a threat of a travel ban.

How it all transpired was that, I was initially suspected of being a drug-trafficker, because I was only transiting for a short time, and my previous destination had been Thailand. So, if your prior stop was Thailand, I'd avoid telling them that unless your hand is forced. Upon their satisfaction that I wasn't guilty of drug-trafficking my phone was then seized. I had no idea that this was even legal; I thought a gross invasion of privacy.

It was demanded that I unlock my phone, and she then proceeded to search through all my text messages, emails, Facebook communications, and media.

She came across some pictures of my girls who I have on my phone, some of them were in states of undress; so this automatically labelled me as a paedophile, I didn't sweat it, I don't sleep with underage girls, but this didn't stop her from assuming I was; because to an XXL sized Australian Femi-nazi border guard any girl from Asia who is under 30 looks like a kid!
So, that entailed quizzing me on the name, age, and finally trying to trip me up with their date of birth.

This continued to my camera, and finally my laptop; of which they searched the entire thing, quizzing me on each person they found.

Femi-nazi: Who is this?
Me: My sister!
Femi-nazi: What's her name??
Me: Bob!

Upon them finding some fetish porn, that they deemed objectionable, I was then threatened that I was going to be banned from ever travelling to Australia again.

This was all the while they were using as loud a voice as possible so as to try and maximise my 'embarrassment' while being surrounded by other travellers.

Overall - probably one of the worst customs experiences I've ever had.

Unlike other countries were you are generally treated with a modicum of respect, and you are innocent until proven guilty - in Australia, they are using a magnifying glass to find any reason to deport you and behave like rabid pack animals looking their next prey.

Moral of that story: If you travel to Australia don't travel with porn of any kind, don't have pictures of females on your phone (even if they are dressed), and be prepared to have your dignity and pride trampled on, don't declare if your travel itinerary passes through suspicious locations - you will be interrogated & having a password on your device means nothing, they will demand you unlock it, and if you don't they will seize it, and ban you from entering the country.

Happy travels.

[micky]

sucks.

it's like.. you're the only person watching porn, and porn sites are the most visited websites on earth after facebook and google.

does anyone have a list of countries in which customs or police have a right to search your stuff without the search warrant from court?

[Suits]

I'm not going to argue that they were as professional as they should have been, but this is pretty common behavior among immigration officers in just about any Western country.

They behaved in a threatening manner to see how you would react. Of course they still let you in.

It's a common law enforcement tactic to place people under pressure, because the guilty ones are known to crack.

[aguasin]

I only have experience with Australia, so I am not sure, but I believe from my googling research that UK, USA, Canada, Australia are the most prolific invaders of privacy. New Zealand law doesn't allow them to search your devices without permission.

[RBerkley]

Australia Immigration Authorities sound similar to Canadian ones like what happened to that former Louisiana Senator guy Dr. David Duke when he went into Canada. I heard that the Canadian border authorities seized all of his books and "burned" them because it was considered "hate speech".

It was unwise to travel with "controversial" content while entering feminist dominated countries..Hate speech laws are enforced rigorously that even owning a picture of your girlfriend in a state of undress can cause some violation of their Penal Code there.

Many people complain how American border authorities are a pain in the ass because they keep on getting more vigilant about preventing any weapons of mass destruction entering the country...but Canada, and now Australia are more considered about searching for politically incorrect content and "hate speech".

It was also disturbing how the Australian commie-dyke Immigration officer labelled you a "pedo" because they saw images of thin, legal-age chicks from a device which they obtained from questionable means..Don't the West got bigger things to worry about at their border terminals like some ISIS fighter creating mass terror? Australian Immigration authorities appear to be SJW to the Maximum.

Any American border patrol who demands to seize electronic devices to search for hate speech is totally out of their minds, but that same thought police thing is prevalent anywhere which doesn't protect free speech like the USA

[Leonard D Neubache]

Welcome to the United Australian Socialist Republic.

If I were you I'd keep all that nasty shit encrypted on a flash drive. One of those tiny ones that barely even pokes out of the USB port. And I wouldn't keep it with the computer either.

This is the new normal. It would not surprise me in the slightest that in addition to being a male you're also in your prime and white. On my last five domestic flights I noticed that nobody but white men 20-40 years of age were picked for additional screening.

[Dirkus]

Sounds like an episode of Border Security.

[Seadog]

Ah, this entire thread strikes a chord, I am quite passionate about it and what a huge invasion of privacy it is. Something similar happened to me after moving back to Canada from Indonesia 3 years ago. It was 2am, 40 hours of travel, 3 large bags, 2 small one, and 3 computers (work, personal, travel tablet). I was held up for 2 hours.

Like some people here, I didn't know they could do this, and started researching it. During the search, I was minorly concerned about the 1 TB of pirated movies, music and books I had on an external HD, but presumably they're looking for terrorism stuff and illegal porn.

I did come across this though:

http://sequart.org/magazine/1433/canada-hates-comics/

Turns out in Canada, for something to be considered kiddie porn, it just has to "depict" a minor. That minor need not be a real person, or in the case above, can be a cartoon. Fake erotic stories with minors would also fall in that category.

Recently a guy plead guilty in Halifax, Canada over refusal to give customs his phone passwords, after showing up with $5k cash, and traces of cocaine on his bags from DR. So they seized it, and they still have buddy's phone 18 months later.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scoti...-1.3721110

I was hoping that this would be pushed, and the ridiculous fishing expedition of electronic device searches could be put to an end.

Perhaps I'm paranoid, but generally before travelling, I give most of my devices a thorough wipe, but perhaps leave enough that it doesn't look like it was intentionally hosed down raising suspicion. Encryption could work, but even if they come across encrypted files, they can force you to decrypt, give passwords etc, or in the case above, straight up seize your devices indefinitely, and charge you with obstruction. It seems that the laws have evolved to the point that they're so opaque, wide reaching, and confusing for the average person, that the slightest suggestion of malfeasance can be drummed up into something huge. Eg: Videos about Hitler. History buff? Or Neo Nazi?

[Phoenix]

Please spread this news as far as you can.
Damaging the undeserved tourism to that asshole-run shithole is an honourable public service.

[Svoboda]

I might be wrong but I believe for the USA they can't force you to give the password if the device was turned off at time of seizure.

[TooFineAPoint]

If you all would like to know how to see red in under 30 seconds, let me tell the story of when my American friend last crossed the Canadian border.

He was coming up to make a self-funded indie movie, so he had some gear in his car. Basically, nothing to worry about.

Not only did they delay him for hours (I think it was 8 hours grilling one day, denied, and then hit another border for another few hours the next day to be let in but "marked" on file).

They did the whole thing OP describes -- going through phone, computer, etc.

Upon pulling up a photo of his 11 year old daughter about to go in the swimming pool: "if there would have been any more skin in this photo we would have arrested you for child porn".

I salute his restraint.

A dickless border "officer" insinuating that you are a pedophile because you have photos of your own daughter is next level scumbaggery. I imagine wanting to pin him against the wall by his throat and smashing his windpipe.

In case you needed more evidence that your "elected" officials, guards, and state have your best interests and security in mind...

[Technics]

Wow, thanks for sharing.

[bumborass]

that's fucked man

state department warns about the same thing for Israel, but I'm sure yall have heard stories about how the Israelis can get sometimes. Not judging them just calling a spade a spade.

I got stopped in Canada as well. I honestly just think it was because I raised eyebrows traveling to Vancouver for only 5 days, one of which being 4/20. They eventually let me go, but not without feeling up the sides of my bag, stiffing their fingers down my lotion and body wash, bending my sneakers, making me empty out my wallet, asking about why I have a military id, etc etc...

got stopped in England as well, that one was weird, and I think the guy was stereotyping the fuck out of me. He pulls me over to the side, asks questions like "so what are you planning on seeing while you're here?" "oh, 5 days is an awfully short amount of time to be traveling, can I see your passport" after I already got stamped... eventually asks for proof of onward travel, I show him my return ticket, which didn't satisfy him, he wanted to see where I worked and who I work for.. I show him.. he gets surprised, lets me go. Fuck.

Got questioned in Dubai about my bag full of dirty clothes.. once the ladies understood it was dirty clothes they stopped feeling up on it lolol

in Japan I've had the agent spend a little more time with me than he did with others, and he too searched my bag, which he didn't do to others

nowadays I just expect to get fucked with, so I just act polite and just mention how I'm there to have fun, be safe, see new things, and go back home in peace.

[Henny]

I also have a friend who was returning from E Europe to US via Canada, they searched every device he had, even his ebook reader.

One option is encrypting your laptop and refusing to unlock your phone, obviously this can cause you problems

Another thing you can do is move all your homemade porn to the cloud, then transfer back to your phone when you return to show your buddies

[LINUX]

This is why I travel with Hanson's discography and a phone full of dicks.

What kind of fetish porn did you have that they deemed objectable?

[elcidcampeador]

You have rights as a citizen when entering a country. Obviously it's a bit different as a non-citizen. Everything is permissable if you allow the agents to search your stuff, although in many cases you can refuse.

This is why everyone should enroll in Global Entry, Nexus in Canada, or whatever is offered in your country.

Then you can get benefits like APEC travel card and so on. I've only had one secondary inspection in my life and this is in over a million miles of travel. Not sure why everyone on here has such extreme stories.

[Sidney Crosby]

Another thing to be aware of guys is clean all your stuff that could have come in contact with drugs. Wash all your stuff, wipe down your cell phone, all your credit cards, ID, wallet, everything.

Throw out your toothbrush as well because they swabbed my toothbrush and it tested positive for narcotics (how did that happen )

Anyway if they run a test and it comes back positive this could cost you spending 2-3 hours in secondary and wasting your fucking time after a long ass flight and even missing a connecting flight.

If they find probable cause they will go through your cell phone looking at your contacts, pictures and texts, all the papers you have and your computer and whatever other electronics you have.

[Adrenaline]

Typical over-regulated Australian bullshit. Why would you want to come here anyway?

I was stopped once leaving Aus because I seemed panicked and in a rush. Well yeah, having 5 minutes to get through immigration or potentially missing your flight does that to ya.

[frozen-ace]

OP, how did they search your email and Facebook? Via an app after they got into your phone so they didn't need a password?

Can they ask for an email login and Facebook login, separate from taking your physical laptop and computer? Wonder if you had 2 factor authentication and couldn't get in how they would react.

What happens if your phone is dead? They have chargers to plug it in right there?

What about your computer, maybe you dropped it and now it won't turn on, what would they do?

What happens if, for any number of hypothetical (and unlikely) reasons, you had a phone and didn't know the password? What would they do?

[Seadog]

(09-02-2016 06:40 PM)elcidcampeador Wrote:  

You have rights as a citizen when entering a country. Obviously it's a bit different as a non-citizen. Everything is permissable if you allow the agents to search your stuff, although in many cases you can refuse.

You have the right to enter the country, and that's about it. If customs is not satisfied that you're not bringing in anything prohibited, they can seize it, evaluate it on their own somewhere else, and give it back later once they are satisfied. Or not. Look at the case I posted above where the guy refused to hand over his blackberry password, was charged, and they still have his phone 18 months later. This is a world of difference between customs an the police in terms of search rights.

(09-02-2016 07:03 PM)Sidney Crosby Wrote:  

If they find probable cause they will go through your cell phone looking at your contacts, pictures and texts, all the papers you have and your computer and whatever other electronics you have.

They don't need probably cause to check your phone, any more than they do to ask you where you live, or how much booze you're bringing back.

While it's a bit of a grey area, some US court circuits have said that in order to do an invasive search, which include body cavity, waiting for you to crap, or doing a detailed forensic computer analysis for deleted files and the like, does require some degree of reasonable suspicion.

[Seadog]

Another interesting thing I came across was that last year upon return to the US, some California mayor who was under investigation for something or other had all his electronics seized.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/10/01/pro...china.html

It may be borderline conspiracy theory, but if you've attracted the ire of the gov't, being able to conduct a warrentless search of your computer while re-entering the country, searching for things completely unrelated to your trip, becomes very convenient.

[The Beast1]

Word of advice when traveling through risky countries, most border gaurds are technological idiots.

If you're a high profile target, consider doing the following BEFORE going through passport control:

1. Delete facebook and its messenger. Remove all social media
2. Clear text messages and email
3. If you're using Android marshmellow or higher, you have the option of creating a new user account on your phone. Make a fake "account" that's password protected. Send a few emails and have some innocuous pictures on it and maybe some stupid apps to appease them. You can do this if you don't want to clear your phone of its contents but be forewarned if you get a clever border guard and they discover the alternative account you'll be fucked hard.
4. Remove all of your images. Back them up to the cloud and remove the account association from your phone.
5. Disassociate your email, exchange, and/or internet accounts from your phone (eg if you connect to Google, kill it!)
6.. Consider mailing sensitive devices and luggage via the post office, UPS, or Fedex.

Don't declare prescriptions or anything for that matter. The likelihood of getting searched is low if you're white, look professional, and are clean cut.

Plead ignorance if caught because you'll be dinged and most likely held for 3 hours anyway. It is better than writing "sucker" on your forehead by declaring anything which opens you up to questioning.

You have no rights when you're outside passport control. Technically you're in a no mans land. Avoid being in this place for as long as possible.

[Easy_C]

Here's the other thing that is missing.

Be wary when entering countries where the government is highly leveraged

That is no small part of what is driving this.

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world...n-the-air/.

Quote:

We have certainly embarked down the road of a police state. Federal agencies are tracking people who travel on trains and in the air. If someone buys a ticket for cash, the government is notified. They are looking for the slightest thing. I went to the airport to pick up a friend who comes over to the States maybe four times a year. I ended up waiting for nearly three hours. They took my friend and searched everything. The agent then handed them to someone else and said, “See if you can find something! I found nothing.” Finally, they escorted my friend out and then began interrogating me by saying that frequent trips set off a “red flag” and then asked what I did simply because I was there to pick them up. I am not easily intimidated and can hold my ground. So they backed off and released them.

I was flying back to the States from Europe over the July Fourth holiday. My ticket was originally booked for JFK in New York. I then remembered the traffic would be horrific so I switched to Philadelphia. When I landed, I was met by two IRS agents. Apparently, there was sting they set up at JFK looking for Americans coming home for holidays who do not pay taxes here. I said, “You can check. I pay my taxes here and do not live overseas.” That was not good enough. They thought I was tipped off to their sting in NYC, so they sent two agents to intercept me in Philadelphia simply because I switched planes.

I took the train from Brussels to London after meetings with the government so I was dressed in a suit and tie. Everyone else on the train were tourists. I was the only one called aside by British customs. They asked how much money I had on me. I showed them my US passport. That was NOT enough. They wanted to see my ticket, where I bought it, and how I paid. I showed them that I bought the ticket in Brussels, was returning to Brussels, had meetings in Paris, and would fly home from Frankfurt.

When I returned from our Berlin Conference last year, I dressed casually in jeans, thinking that might help. But traveling alone, I was again singled out. Once more, US Customs wanted to know how much cash I had on me.

The hunt for money is getting really bad. You cannot travel on a train in Europe without them looking for money. In Italy, they confiscated a stack of bonds from a passenger on a train to Switzerland. A staff member left Switzerland on the train for a meeting in Lichtenstein, which goes through France. The train was stopped in France and police searched bags looking for cash.

In the USA, now even the DEA is searching all travel records on trains and in the air. They target people who buy one-way tickets or pay cash for a ticket.

We should just legalize drugs and that would end the crime and the confiscation of citizens. Now everyone is a suspect for the slightest thing and they claim it is drug or terrorist related.

In addition to the above, minimize your risk by doing the following.

1: Carry as little cash as possible.

2: Purchase tickets digitally, and book a return ticket with it if possible.

3: Avoid carrying liquids especially alcohol.

4: Do not carry expensive jewelry or accessories.

[Germanicus]

What does this say about modern western democratic societies when men who are low-key, fairly honest law-abiding citizens of their countries have to live life like intelligence operatives and employ basic spy tradecaft security techniques merely to travel for work or pleasure?

[zatara]

I'd be curious about the racial profile of the people being pulled for this. I've passed through 20 odd airports a year every year for the past decade and have never been pulled for any sort of additional questioning, nevermind all of this investigation. Nobody I know has either. This has included many trips to both Australia and the USA. And my passport is full of stamps from mildly questionable developing-world countries at this stage too, on-top of that. I'm a white European male, though, and most of my friends would be similar. Which may be a factor I'm guessing.

It is all vaguely terrifying though. Even if you have nothing properly incriminating on you I think a lot of people might discuss the odd illegal thing in private text messages with their friends, even jokingly.