Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution/Woodcessories
While some people misuse Apple's AirTag, turning to the little tracker for horrible things like stalking, others see it as a great weapon to fight crimes.
The Jacksonville Beach Police recently discovered this outstanding side of the AirTag, as they managed to arrest two burglary suspects with the help of the tracker.
The police revealed in a Facebook post that Coretta Stewart and Eddie Smith III are linked with several car break-ins, typically using a rental vehicle to look for targets. The officers believe they are also responsible for several other liquor thefts in other counties, including Walmart and Target stores.
While the police refused to share too many specifics about the case, mainly because they're still investigating, the Facebook post reveals that the two suspects were arrested thanks to an AirTag. The tracker was planted into one of the goods they recently stole so the owner could see the location in real-time.
They shared the information with the police, who continued to monitor the AirTag's coordinates to find the thieves' location. They eventually tracked them down and arrested the suspects, discovering $1,500 worth of stolen and fraudulently purchased items.
The case signals the importance of putting an AirTag into your car and the other goodies you leave behind, which could become a target for hackers. You're not supposed to let your phone or wallet in the car, even if it carries an AirTag, but considering the device's small form factor, you should be able to install it anywhere.
Apple's AirTag is part of the Find My network, so it can show its location on the master iPhone in the dedicated Find My app. The device connects to nearby iPhones and uses them to broadcast its location, so it doesn't need built-in Internet access. Thanks to this approach, the tracker can work virtually anywhere if it can find a nearby iPhone to communicate with the master device.
The AirTag can also be a valuable device to track your vehicle if it gets stolen. Car owners install the device in the cabin specifically to monitor its location, and the police say it's critical to provide the information to the officers when noticing the car is missing. A thief trying to drive away in a stolen vehicle doesn't have the time to look for trackers inside the car so the police can find their location and eventually recover the vehicle.
If you need tips on where to plant the AirTag in your car, I recently created a list with the five best places for the tracker. A thief would have to spend a lot of time searching for the AirTag, even if they receive a notification that a tracker is installed in the car.
The police revealed in a Facebook post that Coretta Stewart and Eddie Smith III are linked with several car break-ins, typically using a rental vehicle to look for targets. The officers believe they are also responsible for several other liquor thefts in other counties, including Walmart and Target stores.
While the police refused to share too many specifics about the case, mainly because they're still investigating, the Facebook post reveals that the two suspects were arrested thanks to an AirTag. The tracker was planted into one of the goods they recently stole so the owner could see the location in real-time.
They shared the information with the police, who continued to monitor the AirTag's coordinates to find the thieves' location. They eventually tracked them down and arrested the suspects, discovering $1,500 worth of stolen and fraudulently purchased items.
The case signals the importance of putting an AirTag into your car and the other goodies you leave behind, which could become a target for hackers. You're not supposed to let your phone or wallet in the car, even if it carries an AirTag, but considering the device's small form factor, you should be able to install it anywhere.
Apple's AirTag is part of the Find My network, so it can show its location on the master iPhone in the dedicated Find My app. The device connects to nearby iPhones and uses them to broadcast its location, so it doesn't need built-in Internet access. Thanks to this approach, the tracker can work virtually anywhere if it can find a nearby iPhone to communicate with the master device.
The AirTag can also be a valuable device to track your vehicle if it gets stolen. Car owners install the device in the cabin specifically to monitor its location, and the police say it's critical to provide the information to the officers when noticing the car is missing. A thief trying to drive away in a stolen vehicle doesn't have the time to look for trackers inside the car so the police can find their location and eventually recover the vehicle.
If you need tips on where to plant the AirTag in your car, I recently created a list with the five best places for the tracker. A thief would have to spend a lot of time searching for the AirTag, even if they receive a notification that a tracker is installed in the car.
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