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Police Discover AirTag Planted in NYPD Patrol Car, Finding the Owner Is Child’s Play

Launched with a good purpose in mind, Apple’s AirTag was supposed to help users keep track of their belongings, including things like wallets and car keys.
The AirTag was found under the hood 6 photos
Photo: NYPD
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Thanks to the Find My integration, the AirTag is able to make finding the items we typically lose much easier, as it can connect to nearby iPhones and send its location to its owner right on an Apple device.

Because of the way it works and the small form factor, the AirTag has been used for all kinds of nefarious purposes lately, including stalking and keeping track of vehicles that thieves planned to steal.

Unfortunately, it’s all reaching a ridiculous point now, as the New York Police Department itself found an AirTag planted in one of its cars.

It happened earlier this week when the police car that was patrolling in Queens somehow ended up with Apple’s GPS tracker under the hood. The device was placed in a sealed plastic bag, and it’s not yet known how the person who planted it managed to get access under the hood of the NYPD car.

Most likely, the police officers who were inside the car ended up getting a notification on their iPhones that an AirTag was moving with them. This is one of the protections integrated by Apple into the AirTag, as the GPS tracker can send alerts to nearby iPhones whenever it detects that the device could be used for stalking an individual.

Similar protections are also available on Android, but in this case, users would have to download a dedicated app from the Google Play Store and then perform a scan manually on their devices.

The police are now trying to find the owner of the AirTag, and without a doubt, this won’t take long. Like the other Apple products, the AirTag comes with a serial number that links to the person who purchased the device from an Apple Store. Furthermore, when requested by law enforcement, Apple can provide additional information including account details, to help the police find the owner of an AirTag.

In the meantime, NYPD officers are being told to be cautious about any other AirTags that could be used for tracking their location, especially because this nefarious purpose is becoming more and more popular lately, especially in the United States.

Of course, the most important tidbit of the whole story is how the AirTag owner managed to get access to an NYPD car and plant the GPS device under the hood without being noticed. It’s all just a matter of time until we’ll find out more details, as finding the owner shouldn’t take too long, especially because the police have probably reached out to Apple already to help with the investigation.
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About the author: Bogdan Popa
Bogdan Popa profile photo

Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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