Americans are on high alert as tech-savvy criminals now utilize tracking gadgets known as "AirTags" to commit thefts and stalkings using iPhones.
According to Dearborn, Michigan, Police Sergeant James Isaacs, the Apple AirTags has become a more stealthy way for stalkers to make unwanted contact with a victim or follow them to their places of employment, schools, and restaurants.
Since last year, several police agencies, including the one in Dearborn, have urged the public to be on guard against thieves utilizing Apple AirTags to steal from or unlawfully track individuals, per Fox News.
In April last year, Apple AirTags was introduced as the newest means to track down misplaced belongings like keys and purses. Owners of AirTags may use an iPhone to monitor the little disc-shaped device's precise position or ask Siri to track it. The AirTag features a built-in speaker that chirps when activated.
The gadgets transmit their whereabouts through Bluetooth, which can be tracked by Apple's Find My Network app. Apple has claimed in the past that its AirTags are equipped with many safeguards to prevent Apple AirTags stalking.
Apple has known for quite some time that criminals may use AirTags, but the company delayed their deployment until they could figure out how to prevent this.
The tech firm released the gadgets with the disclaimer that "AirTags are designed to track items, not people."
The firm claims it has developed many measures to prevent customers from being followed.
Accessories To Commit Crime
The BBC reported earlier this year that numerous women had discovered unauthorized AirTags following them.
Several women who were contacted by or discovered rogue AirTags have talked to the media outlet in the past. It was reported by one traveler that she discovered the AirTag in her bag.
Recently, two women have launched a class action lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the company's AirTag technology facilitates stalking and harassment.
Following her husband's divorce, one of the case's plaintiffs said she found AirTags on personal items. The second complainant, Lauren Hughes, claimed that a guy started following her after they split up. She had blocked him and was hiding out at a motel when she was notified that an AirTag was nearby.
They also claim that women's killings in Akron, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Indiana, this year are connected to Apple AirTags.
Moreover, as reported by the New York Post, the complaint argues that there is a "gross imbalance" in the safeguards offered to iOS/Apple users compared to those offered to those using Android smartphones, leaving Android users virtually "defenseless" to surveillance or stalking via AirTag.
In February, a man in Nashville claimed to have repeatedly heard chirping coming from his automobile.
Eventually, the man's automobile was found, and Eric Johnson, the owner, was keen to discover if his case was an Apple AirTags car theft. He disassembled a vehicle door in search of the little gadget, which he later discovered within the door on a narrow ledge.
AirTags: The Perfect Tool For Abusers
Director of Cyber Security at the Electronic Frontier Foundation Eva Galperin earlier this year informed BBC that designing an item that is good for tracing stolen stuff, means developing a "perfect tool for stalking."
The executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, Albert Fox Cahn, told Motherboard previously that "stalking and stalkerware existed before AirTags," but Apple has made it cheaper and simpler than ever for abusers and attackers to monitor their targets using gadgets like Apple AirTags.
To address security concerns related to its products, Apple is collaborating with law enforcement agencies and tech security experts.
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