Thursday, December 15, 2022

Americans on alert as tech-savvy criminals use Apple AirTag to stalk, steal

 


Strange chirping sounds and alerts on iPhones have put some Americans on high alert over the last year and a half as they try to figure out why an unknown device is tracking their every move.

 It’s one of the latest crime trends that tech-savvy criminals are using to carry out car thefts and stalkings, which has pushed police departments across the nation to warn residents to watch out for the new tactic.

 "In a traditional stalking case, typically you have people who are making contact or unwanted contact with a victim, repeatedly,"

 Dearborn, Michigan, police Sgt. James Isaacs told Fox 2 earlier this year.
 "They're following them where they work, where they go to school, where they are going to eat. Using the AirTag is just another way for them to do that in a more surreptitious way." 

 Dearborn is among the slew of police departments that have warned the public since last year to be on high alert for criminals using Apple AirTags to steal or illegally follow people. 

 Apple released AirTags in April of 2021 as the latest way to find lost personal items such as keys or handbags, and billed with the instructions "Ping It. Find It." AirTag owners can clip the small disc-shaped device to something they often misplace, and simply ask Siri to track the AirTag, which has a built-in speaker that chirps when engaged, or use an iPhone to track its exact location.

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