Apple AirTags reportedly being used to stalk women — what to do
Apple tree AirTags reportedly beingness used to stalk women — what to practise
More than tales are surfacing online about the Apple AirTag being used to rails cars, or fifty-fifty stalk women, in nefarious ways.
"Someone attached an Apple AirTag to the underside of my front bike well while I was inside a bar," wrote Baltimore-surface area Twitter user @Sega__JEANAsis over the weekend in a tweetstorm that was widely forwarded.
The Twitter user, who likewise uses the name Jaz W. online, said the incident took identify early Sat forenoon (Dec. xviii) and was "kinda terrifying." She said she started getting alerts on her iPhone equally she drove away from the bar that an AirTag was found moving with her — even with no other cars on the road.
Hullo friends. And so something kinda terrifying happened to me last night—someone attached an Apple AirTag to the underside of my forepart wheel well while I was inside a bar. (one/3)December 18, 2021
"I checked all my things, like my handbag, my trench coat pockets, my wallet — couldn't find anything," @Sega__JEANAsis wrote. "While I was asleep I had someone close to me check my car and they establish it stuck on the underside of my front passenger wheel well."
"It bothers me cause no matter how *safe* women try to exist," she added, "it doesn't matter if someone truly wishes to harm y'all."
It wasn't clear if the person who put the AirTag on @Sega__JEANAsis'south car intended to follow her or her machine. Contempo reports take come from Toronto, Detroit and Houston of car thieves using AirTags to follow prospective vehicles from public places to locations where they can be more easily stolen.
@Sega__JEANAsis admitted that "they def could have only wanted my car, information technology's slightly on the higher terminate side but nothing crazy."
"I like to think this is the reality instead of them physically wanting me for God knows what," she added.
(Even more reports of AirTag stalking were reported in late December 2021 and early January 2022, although in most of these incidents, local police took the reports very seriously.)
Many more such incidents
This isn't the but such incident to be reported in recent months. A Jonesboro, Arkansas, adult female, who wanted to remain anonymous, plant an AirTag taped her car's torso after she shopped for a Christmas tree in November, according to TV station KAIT-TV.
California resident @_ashleyscarlett, identified by InTheKnow equally Ashley Estrada, said on TikTok Sept. 13 that she had constitute an AirTag wedged behind her car's license plate soon later she drove from her home in the Inland Empire into Los Angeles.
In a follow-upward video, Estrada mentioned that her auto was a Dodge, and her clips seem to testify a Dodge Charger, the same model that seems to exist sought past Detroit-expanse car thieves.
@_ashleyscarlett Reply to @ann_baby7 ##greenscreen ##greenscreenvideo I volition be contacting @apple tree with the air tags info but never in a meg years did I think! ðŸ˜
♬ original sound - ash 💕
Estrada said that when she reported the incident to police force, they dismissed it as a "not-life-threatening situation" — no relief to Estrada, who called the incident "super scary." Estrada said she planned to contact Apple tree directly.
Some other TikTok user, @kimbreezeh, said in a video posted Sept. 20 that when she told police that there seemed to be a rogue AirTag hidden on her auto, they also told her they could not take her report because goose egg illegal was going on.
@kimbreezeh This is definitely the scariest affair thats happened to me 🥴 ##fypシ ##fyp ##stalker ##airtag ##airtagsapple ##staysafeeveryone ##ThatCloseMessenger
♬ original sound - Kimbrreezeh
"I'thousand to call them when someone shows up," she said in her video. "That's when they tin can assist me."
TikTok user @murasakisweetpotatoes had better luck with her local police force department, co-ordinate to a video posted June 11. She too found an AirTag under the license plate of the machine that she'd been driving, and so wrote down the serial number and reported it to police.
@murasakisweetpotatoes and for my birthday i accept received Ane Stalker! but actually not funny pls be aware this tin can happen ##appleairtags ##stalker
♬ original sound - shelb
Apple can, in theory, link that serial number to the device's owner, so someone might exist getting an unwelcome telephone call from the cops.
Again, most of these incidents could be interpreted as setups for motorcar theft as well as possible stalking. There's much less ambiguity with TikTok user @angel.edge95, who on Nov. 21 posted a video saying that a rogue AirTag had followed her on a flight from Austin, Texas to Boston.
@affections.edge95 ##greenscreen ⚠️share this with your loved ones ⚠️ ##ASOSChaoticToCalm ##traffickingawarenes ##airtag
♬ original sound - biker baddie ✨
She too went to local police, who found an AirTag taped to the inside of one of the bags she'd checked on the plane, @angel.edge95 said in a follow-up video.
It's not clear what has happened with the cases that the police have taken seriously. We've reached out to Apple with questions about how many incidents of possible AirTag stalking the visitor has received, and we will update this story when we receive a respond.
What to exercise if an AirTag is tracking you
If your iPhone tells you lot that an AirTag has been "found moving with you," take the warning seriously. If you lot're driving, cheque the exterior of your car for places where an AirTag might exist hidden — under the bumpers, inside the cycle wells, behind a license plate, fifty-fifty within the gas-cap door or trailer hitch attachment.
If you're non driving, and then check your coat pockets and the bags you're conveying. AirTags are supposed to start chirping if they've been separated from their paired iPhones for viii to 24 hours, but the chirps might not be audible from inside a moving vehicle or if the AirTag is muffled by clothing.
There's a lot of concern that Android users won't receive such notifications. Apple terminal week released an Android app called Device Tracker that does detect rogue AirTags, only the catch is that scans must be initiated manually. If y'all're truly worried about stalking, you might have to run such scans several times a day.
A ameliorate option might be an Android app chosen AirGuard, developed by researchers at the Technical Academy of Darmstadt in Germany. It automatically scans for AirTags and other Apple Find My devices that seem to be moving with you.
We can't vouch for the legitimacy of the AirGuard app, and information technology does ask for a lot of permissions when you install information technology, including precise GPS location, access to Bluetooth, full network access, and the abilities to disable battery optimization and prevent an Android device from sleeping.
Only AirGuard'south source code is posted on GitHub for anyone to review, and the same team of researchers accept developed other AirTag-related tools in the past several months.
If you do find the rogue AirTag in your clothing or belongings, or on your car, practise non throw out or destroy the AirTag. Instead, disable information technology by removing the battery — push down on the AirTag's front, twist it counterclockwise and open the unit. Write down the AirTag's serial number and report the incident to your local police department and Apple tree itself.
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/news/airtag-stalking-incidents
Posted by: beckhamknestagave.blogspot.com
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