Lost and Found Is Broken. Here Is What the Numbers Say, and What We Built Instead

The luggage problem is enormous and mostly solvable

SITA, the technology provider behind the WorldTracer baggage tracing system used by more than 500 airlines across roughly 2,800 airports, publishes the industry benchmark every year.

The most recent picture: - Around 24 million bags were delayed, misrouted, damaged or lost worldwide in 2025, a rate of 4.9 bags for every 1,000 passengers - In 2024 the figure was 33.4 million bags at 6.3 per 1,000 passengers, against a record 5.3 billion travellers - Delayed and misrouted bags make up more than 75% of all mishandling. Permanently lost bags are only about 4% - International routes mishandle at 9.12 bags per 1,000 passengers against just 1.65 on domestic - Asia-Pacific runs the lowest rate in the world at 3.1 per 1,000 - SITA now benchmarks the cost of a single mishandled bag at USD 260, putting the total industry bill at roughly USD 6.3 billion a year Read that fourth point again. Most mishandled luggage is not gone forever. It is sitting somewhere, known to somebody, waiting to be reconnected with a name and a phone number.

A paper luggage tag can do that job, right up until you realise it also publishes your home address to every stranger in the terminal.

Pets: microchips work, but only after the shelter Australia has an estimated 28.7 million pets and one of the highest pet ownership rates on earth. The microchip data is where this gets interesting.

A study of stray dogs and cats entering RSPCA Queensland shelters found that only 28% of dogs and 9% of cats arrived microchipped. Of those that were chipped, 37% had a problem with the data: registered to a previous owner in 47% of cases, every phone number incorrect or disconnected in 29%, and the chip never registered at all in 14%.

The payoff for getting it right is dramatic. In RSPCA Queensland shelters, 80% of microchipped dogs were reclaimed against 37% of unmicrochipped dogs. For cats the gap is starker still: 51% against 5%.

So microchips save lives. But notice the mechanism. A microchip only helps once the animal has already been picked up and taken to a vet, a council pound or a shelter, because it needs a scanner to read it. Your neighbour who finds your dog wandering two streets away does not own a scanner.

A QR tag is readable by the phone already in that neighbour's hand. No app to install, no account to create, no scanner, no shelter. Scan, call, done, often within minutes of the dog going missing.

The two technologies are not competitors. A microchip is your permanent backstop. A QR tag is your immediate first response.

The privacy problem nobody talks about

Here is the reason most people never put their real contact details on a tag in the first place.

Writing your mobile number on a luggage tag hands it to every baggage handler, every passenger at the carousel and anyone who photographs it. Writing your address on a pet collar tells a stranger exactly which house is currently distracted by a missing dog. Putting your number on a windscreen sticker invites it straight into a scraper database.

The honest choice most people face is between being contactable and being exposed. So they pick a half measure, write nothing useful, and lose the item.

Scan2Call removes that trade-off entirely.

How Scan2Call actually works

Every Scan2Call tag carries a unique QR code linked to your account. When someone scans it, they reach a finder page that shows only what you have chosen to display.

They can then reach you three ways: a phone call, an SMS, or a WhatsApp message. All three route through a temporary proxy number that expires.

Your real number is never shown to the finder. The finder's number is never shown to you. Neither side can look the other up afterwards, and you can disable a tag or block a specific contact from your dashboard at any moment.

The result is simple. You are fully contactable and completely anonymous at the same time.

That relay is the hard part of this product, and it is what took us the longest to build properly. The QR code itself is the cheapest component in the entire system.

Find My, built in

On our premium range, the tag also carries a Bluetooth tracking chip certified on both Apple Find My and Google Find My Device.

That gives you two independent layers. Bluetooth tells you roughly where the item is. The QR code lets whoever picked it up talk to you directly. One answers "where", the other answers "who has it and how do I get it back".

Most tracker products give you the first. Most QR tags give you the second. Very few give you both in one product.

The full Scan2Call range Vehicle windshield stickers for parking disputes, blocked driveways, accidents and roadside emergencies Keychain tags for house keys and car keys, with an optional Find My version Luggage tags for checked bags, carry-on and travel gear Pet collar tags for dogs and cats, with a Find My option Passport stickers for passports, travel wallets and documents Medical ID bands carrying allergy, condition and emergency contact information that a paramedic can access instantly Every tag runs on the same relay, the same dashboard and the same privacy model.

Scan2Call is now live in Bangladesh

We are pleased to announce that Scan2Call has expanded into Bangladesh at scan2call.com.bd.

This is not a reskinned version of the Australian site. We rebuilt the communication layer specifically for the market:

• Local telecom relay running on a Bangladeshi carrier trunk rather than international routing, so calls connect the way people expect and at local rates
• Local payment methods, so customers pay in taka through the channels they already use
• Local SMS delivery with proper masked sender handling
• Local fulfilment, so tags ship domestically instead of crossing a border

Bangladesh made sense as our second market for reasons the data supports. It has enormous urban vehicle density, a fast-growing domestic travel market, and a pet ownership culture expanding quickly in Dhaka and Chattogram. It is also a market where the privacy concern we solve is felt acutely, because publishing a personal mobile number publicly carries real and immediate consequences.

Australia and Bangladesh now run the same platform, the same relay architecture and the same product range. Every improvement we ship reaches both markets together.

What comes next

Our engineering team continues to develop the platform, and every release goes out across all Scan2Call markets at once. More product types, deeper Find My integration and further market expansion are all in progress.

If you have been putting off tagging your luggage, your keys, your car or your pet because you did not want your phone number floating around, that reason no longer applies.

Frequently asked questions

Does the finder need to download an app? No. Any smartphone camera opens the finder page directly. No app, no account, no sign-up.

Will the person who finds my item see my phone number? No. All calls, SMS and WhatsApp messages route through a temporary proxy number that expires. Your real number is never exposed, and neither is theirs.

Does a QR pet tag replace a microchip? No, and it is not meant to. A microchip requires a scanner, which means a vet, council or shelter. A QR tag works for the neighbour who finds your dog first. Use both.

What happens if I lose the tag itself, or sell the item? Disable it from your dashboard instantly. A disabled tag stops resolving immediately.

Do the tags work internationally? Yes. The finder page and relay work anywhere with mobile coverage, which is exactly what you want for mishandled luggage on an international route.

How long does a tag stay active? Each tag carries a defined active period and is renewed annually. Renewal keeps your finder page live and your relay working.

Sources: SITA Baggage IT Insights; RSPCA Queensland shelter microchip data as published in Animals (MDPI); RSPCA Australia pet ownership figures.