The police say that AirTags are being hidden in trailer
hitches, bumpers, and other hard-to-spot places on
vehicles. Because the AirTag was designed to be as
unobtrusive as possible, there are plenty of hiding
places for car thieves to place the device on an intended
target. Stowing one of the trackers is quicker than
actually stealing the car, and after the vehicle leaves the
public parking lot, it’s probably going to be kept
somewhere private enough for the theft to occur.
Apple previously updated the AirTag to reduce the
length of time one of the trackers would need to be away
from its owner before it started to alert people who have
been traveling in close proximity to the device, as a
safeguard against the product being used to stalk
someone. This change helps iPhone owners only, but if
you have an Android device, you can download the
Tracker Detect app from the Google Play store. It’s
designed to detect rogue AirTags and other tracking
devices compatible with Apple’s Find My network
that’ve been separated from their original owners.
AirTags are still designed to start issuing this warning
sometime between 8 and 24 hours after being separated
from their owner. That leaves plenty of time for a car
thief to place the device on a vehicle, track it to a more
secluded area, and potentially steal it before the owner
realizes they’ve picked up a stowaway AirTag. York
Regional Police recommend storing cars in garages,
purchasing steering wheel locks, or taking other steps to
deter would-be thieves.
The police say
that AirTags are
being hidden in
trailer hitches,
bumpers, and
other hard-to-
spot places on
vehicles.PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION (^) I SUBSCRIBE (^) I JANUARY 2022