Tamper evident tapes reveal that a shipment has been illegally opened and possibly pilfered. While boxes and cartons are in transit, they are susceptible to theft or the removal of some of their contents. Sadly, most victims don't realize the missing merchandise until after they have accepted the goods, when it's too late for carriers to reimburse them.

Tamper Evident Tapes Show Entry

It's quite easy--and more common than people would like to admit--to cut the sealing tape around a particular shipped box, remove some or all of the contents, and reseal the box. Once the package has been delivered and signed for, the delivery company is no longer obligated to pay claims. They delivered the goods to the recipient, who signed, thereby acknowledging that they were properly delivered.

Using tamper evident tapes, though, lets customers see that their goods have been illegally opened. Thanks to a special coating on the packaging tape, after it has been removed a hidden message--for example, "opened"--appears in the tape. The message shows up about two hours after the tape has been illegally removed, so the thief won't see it--but the customer will.

Another feature of tamper evident tapes is a numbering system. The tape is numbered sequentially every six inches, making each piece unique. If some of the hidden message tape is removed and replaced with similar tape, checking the number will demonstrate whether the tape is indeed original or added later to cover up a break in the seal.