Why do security checks ask, "Do you have any prohibited items?" The expert's brilliant reply goes viral

▲ Airports ask passengers, "Are there any prohibited items in your luggage?" to ensure security. (Photo/ Illustration, taken by reporter Ji Xiangru, same below)

Online Search Team / Comprehensive Report

Many people are often asked by counter staff at the airport, "Are you carrying any prohibited items?" While some think this is a silly question, professionals say, "Through these seemingly foolish questions, experts can determine whether a passenger is a potential threat."

PTT user smilecccpk, a professional tour guide who frequently travels to and from Israel, recently shared on PTT the security procedures and their significance in Israel. Smilecccpk explained that when discussing national border security, Israel is the first country that comes to mind. Surrounded by mostly hostile nations, Israel has developed an extremely rigorous and far-ahead security system. After 9/11, the U.S. sent personnel to Israel to learn these techniques, making Israel the global model for security checks and border safety.

Recently in Taiwan, an elderly man was detained by police for jokingly saying, "I have a bomb," when asked by counter staff if he was carrying any prohibited items. Regarding whether such "silly questions" are necessary during security checks, smilecccpk pointed out that in Israel, these seemingly foolish questions are handled very thoroughly. Regardless of the final destination,if you’re flying with Israeli Airlines, you’ll encounter these nerve-wracking "foolish Q&As." These include clear yes-or-no questions, follow-up questions based on answers, and trap questions designed to verify previous responses. During sensitive inquiries, security personnel pay close attention to passengers’ eye contact, facial expressions, and body language.

▲ What may seem like meaningless luggage questions are actually key observational points for professionals.

After a series of questions, the counter will ask, "Are you carrying any bombs or firearms?"At this point, security personnel will quickly scan your body up and down while carefully observing your facial expressions and eye movements. Trained staff can infer deception from tone, throat tremors, or shifting eyes—or even judge potential threats based on reactions while waiting.Beyond these expert "silly questions," Israel also employs detailed security screenings and X-ray machines to ensure safety.

Smilecccpk’s post quickly garnered enthusiastic responses, with many netizens commenting, "Learned something new!" and "Professional endorsement."

Here is the original post by smilecccpk (used with permission):

Hello everyone, I’m just a humble little tour guide—m (tour guide).
That is, a certified high-end, egg-nurturing servant-type tour guide. As this humble little me didn’t work hard in my youth, I ended up becoming a tour guide as an adult. Also, because my “egg-nurturing” skills are lacking and I’m not loved by my parents, aside from German-speaking regions, I can only lead unprofitable and exhausting tours in Turkey and the Middle East. Unfortunately, my company is now the largest operator of Israel tours in Taiwan, so I spend about half my time in Israel and half in Taiwan. Due to working in this industry, I can come here to chat and deceive you, dear esteemed guests. When discussing national border security, the first country that comes to mind is Israel.

Israel has done so many questionable things that aside from Jordan, all its neighboring countries are hostile. To this day, Jews still cannot enter countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates with an Israeli passport. Under such circumstances, they’ve developed an extremely rigorous and far-ahead security system. After 9/11, the U.S. sent personnel to Israel to learn these techniques, making Israel the global model for security checks and border safety.

Now, back to the original post’s question.
Is this kind of inquiry really necessary? For Israel, these seemingly foolish questions are handled very thoroughly... Even now, regardless of the final destination, if you’re flying with Israeli Airlines, you’ll encounter these nerve-wracking "foolish Q&As." Though they may seem silly, long-term observations have revealed some interesting patterns and rules.
1. Their questions are usually very clear yes-or-no dichotomies.
2. Their questions extend based on your yes-or-no answers.
3. They set trap questions to validate your previous responses.
4. When asking sensitive questions, security personnel pay close attention to your eye contact, facial expressions, and body language.
For example, when traveling from Taiwan to Israel, the security process generally goes like this:

1. From Taiwan to Hong Kong
Since Israeli Airlines is an off-line airline (non-direct carrier) for Taiwan, the process is similar to flying with regular airlines. However, a day before the group’s departure, the tour guide (m) receives a call from Hong Kong ground staff at Israeli Airlines. They’ll ask if you’re taking the flight the next day, whether you’re carrying anything to inspect, and remind passengers not to lock checked luggage, among other things.

2. From Hong Kong to Israel
Upon arriving in Hong Kong, you need to check in at the Israeli Airlines transfer counter. But before check-in, there’s a security Q&A session. After bringing the group to the transfer counter, an Israeli Airlines security supervisor first takes the tour guide (m) aside for questioning. Based on the guide’s answers, the supervisor validates the approach for questioning the entire group. This information is then relayed to other team members, who question the other passengers.

The questions asked are roughly as follows:
1. Have you been to Israel before?
-YES
1.1. How many times have you been to Israel?
1.2. What was the purpose of your trip to Israel?
1.3. What is the purpose of your current trip to Israel?
1.4. Do you know anyone in Israel?
-YES
1.4-1. What is their name?
1.4-2. How long have you known them?
1.4-3. How did you get to know them?
1.4-4. What is your relationship with them?
1.4-5. Do you usually keep in touch?
1.4-6. Are you close?
1.4-7. Did they ask you to bring anything for them?
1.4-8. Why did they ask you to bring something for them?
1.4-9. What did you bring for them?
1.4-10. Where in Israel do they live?
1.4-11. What do they do for a living?
-NO
1.5. How often do you go to Israel?
1.6. Have you been to any other neighboring countries of Israel besides Israel itself?

（以下一百个问题略）
After the first question "Have you been to Israel?", you can see that there will be many follow-up questions.
Actually, many of the above can be further extended with Yes or No answers to lead to more questions, but I’m too lazy to type them all out.
Then they will continue to ask about other aspects.
2. What is the purpose of your trip to Israel?
3. Where is the group you brought from?
4. How did they join this group?
5. Do they all know each other?
6. How long is your trip, and where will you be going?
7. Do you personally know anyone in this group?
8. Did you pack your own luggage?
9. Did anyone help you pack your luggage?
10. From the time you left the place where you packed your luggage until you arrived at the airport, did you ever let your luggage out of your sight?
11. Have you brought any bombs or firearms with you?
Do these questions seem stupid to you? Especially the last one. But this is actually the whole key. At first I thought they were silly—how could anyone answer them honestly? But based on my long-term observations, I’ve noticed that while they might not stare at you when asking other questions, when it comes to this one, they’ll quickly scan your entire body up and down.

And they’ll carefully observe your facial expressions and eye movements. I once tentatively asked some of the security personnel about this
(because I flew with El Al so often that pretty much everyone knew me), but I basically never got any real answers—they’d just tell me: “For security reasons, I can’t disclose the details.”

But I’ve roughly deduced a few characteristics, partly because the El Al transfer desk is right next to the smoking area, and coincidentally, many of the previous security staff were smokers who would chat and exchange info in the smoking area, so I picked up some insights XDD)
The key points I’ve gathered are roughly as follows:
1. They receive training similar to interrogation and questioning techniques, allowing them to detect lies based on a person’s tone, the trembling of their throat, or how much their eyes dart around.
2. Sometimes, even if you’re completely innocent, they’ll deliberately make you wait around for no reason.
They’ll then observe your reactions during that waiting period to make judgments.
3. These security personnel are generally rotated to different locations every year.
After the interrogation, a sticker with five large letters will be placed on your passport. This sticker changes periodically, and each letter has a specific meaning—but they’ll never tell you what it means.

They’ll circle one of the letters, and only after completing these steps can you check in.
This labeling process is also used to identify whether you’re considered a high-risk individual by their standards.

If, after going through the aforementioned security checks, you’re unfortunately deemed a high-risk individual (based on my own unscientific observations, single women, frequent travelers to and from Israel, and those who have visited other Middle Eastern countries tend to be flagged—so yours truly, humble as I am, is always categorized as high-risk…), you’ll have to undergo a second security screening.

These individuals need to check in for boarding about one to half an hour earlier than usual. Once you arrive at the gate, you report to the security staff there, and they’ll begin a series of tests. First, your carry-on luggage will be taken away and inspected again. Then they’ll take a yellow wand and start swabbing your shoes, passport, wallet, and other items before inserting them into a machine for testing (I’m guessing it’s some kind of explosive residue test). After that, you’ll have to wait nearby until your carry-on is returned before you can board the plane with it. Moreover, from the moment you report to the security staff, you’re kept in isolation—they’ll cordon off the seating area with red ropes, and once you’re inside, you’re not allowed to leave. After the entire check is completed, you must board the plane immediately and cannot exit that area.

Speaking of which, Israel’s security hardware has surpassed that of many other countries. Isn’t their technology advanced? I once entered Israel from Egypt’s Taba Border, and I’ll never forget how thorough and precise their machines were—their X-ray machines (let’s just call them that, since I don’t know the exact term) had the best accuracy and precision I’ve ever seen. It’s hard to describe, though—you really have to see it with your own eyes (but you can’t take photos, or you’ll get hauled into a little room for questioning). Once, I was stripped down to just my underwear and taken into a small room for inspection.

Later, I thought it might be because my checked luggage contained pottery items gifted by shops in Palestinian areas—because everyone in our group who bought pottery in Palestinian territories was stopped, and their luggage was opened specifically to look for those items. Strangely enough, the same style of pottery is actually available in Israel, but those who bought it there were fine. As for being stripped down to my underwear, that only happened to me—I guess it’s because I was flagged as a high-risk individual, so I got the full-body search.

So, even though their X-ray machines are capable of such precision, whether at land borders or airports, they still repeatedly conduct these seemingly foolish checks. There’s no official data or records on their effectiveness, but I think there must be a reason they’ve continued using these methods to this day. Jewish people are not a bureaucratic people, so if they’re still using these methods, I believe there must be value in them. And at least up to now, you can see that despite ISIS rampaging all around Israel, you’ve never heard of them penetrating Israeli borders.
That’s the report, mmm (the tour guide bows and exits the stage!)