Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution/Apple
AirTags have already helped the police recover stolen items, including cars, on several occasions, but in almost every case, thieves had no idea they were tracked in the first place.
But a Houston man says the thief who took possession of his golf equipment, including a cart, was spammed with AirTag tracking notifications and still got caught days later.
It all happened in late May when suspect Nesean Robinson stole the golf cart and other stuff from the Extra Space Storage facility on the Katy Freeway.
Fortunately, the owner had planted an AirTag into his belongings, so once he figured out they were no longer in the storage unit, he used the iPhone to locate them.
After filing a police report, the victim provided the officers with real-time location information, therefore helping law enforcement figure out precisely where the thief was hiding. It didn't take long to find his address, with the police tracking the man at home only a few miles away from the storage unit.
The owner says he was surprised to find all the equipment and the golf cart intact (except for the serial number, which was ripped off probably in an attempt to sell it online), especially because the AirTag probably spammed the thief with tracking notifications.
Apple designed the AirTag to alert iPhone owners when the device is moving with them. The notification appears automatically on a nearby iPhone as a protection system against stalking. The notification keeps showing up every once in a while in order to make a potential stalking victim aware that their location might be monitored.
For some reason, the thief ignored these alerts, though chances are he was using an Android device. The automatic notifications are available only on the iPhone, while Android users must download an app from the Google Play Store and manually scan for nearby AirTags.
The police arrested the suspect, and he's now scheduled to appear in court in August.
AirTags have become must-have tools in the fight against thieves, with police themselves recommending car owners get the device and plant it into their vehicles. Sure enough, a thief can always be warned that an AirTag is moving with them, but if the theft is rapidly reported to the police, they wouldn’t have the time to search the car for the tracker.
On the other hand, it's not a secret that malicious actors misuse the AirTag and turn to this little device for all kinds of nefarious actions. More often than not, the AirTag is used for stalking, as its small form factor and pill-like shape allow the device to be planted in places where it's nearly impossible to spot, such as behind license plates or in wheel wells.
It all happened in late May when suspect Nesean Robinson stole the golf cart and other stuff from the Extra Space Storage facility on the Katy Freeway.
Fortunately, the owner had planted an AirTag into his belongings, so once he figured out they were no longer in the storage unit, he used the iPhone to locate them.
After filing a police report, the victim provided the officers with real-time location information, therefore helping law enforcement figure out precisely where the thief was hiding. It didn't take long to find his address, with the police tracking the man at home only a few miles away from the storage unit.
The owner says he was surprised to find all the equipment and the golf cart intact (except for the serial number, which was ripped off probably in an attempt to sell it online), especially because the AirTag probably spammed the thief with tracking notifications.
Apple designed the AirTag to alert iPhone owners when the device is moving with them. The notification appears automatically on a nearby iPhone as a protection system against stalking. The notification keeps showing up every once in a while in order to make a potential stalking victim aware that their location might be monitored.
For some reason, the thief ignored these alerts, though chances are he was using an Android device. The automatic notifications are available only on the iPhone, while Android users must download an app from the Google Play Store and manually scan for nearby AirTags.
The police arrested the suspect, and he's now scheduled to appear in court in August.
AirTags have become must-have tools in the fight against thieves, with police themselves recommending car owners get the device and plant it into their vehicles. Sure enough, a thief can always be warned that an AirTag is moving with them, but if the theft is rapidly reported to the police, they wouldn’t have the time to search the car for the tracker.
On the other hand, it's not a secret that malicious actors misuse the AirTag and turn to this little device for all kinds of nefarious actions. More often than not, the AirTag is used for stalking, as its small form factor and pill-like shape allow the device to be planted in places where it's nearly impossible to spot, such as behind license plates or in wheel wells.
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