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Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

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Re: Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

#321

Post by threatofrain »

kordlessagain wrote: post #197
hankman86 wrote: post #191

While it’s theoretically possible that this happened, I think this particular story was made up. For a number of reasons: 1) How did the stalker know that that’s her car? She said she was on a night out. Unless she went back to her car all the time, he must have seen her arrive in it. 2) Sticking an AirTag to the inside of the front wheel well isn’t easy. There is dirt and grime there and the surfaces aren’t flat. Th…

I think the problem with saying something was made up is that it becomes blaming. I would hope people don't vote you down because I think that blame is justified, because I questioned how it was presented, on Twitter. I think if it was something related by a friend or close acquaintance to me, then I'd believe it. That it is being disseminated on Twitter in the way it was, I have a tendency to suspect there is more t…

Saying that somebody made up a story is not blaming. That is an accusation of lying, which implies that wrongdoing didn't even occur.

Re: Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

#322

Post by thedougd »

tomerv wrote: post #257
viktorcode wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Read on the news that this kind of tracking with AirTags is used to steal cars. A car thief attaches it to the target vehicle, and then simply arrives to the place where it is parked overnight. The thief removes AirTag and then waits for an opportunity to steal the car.

How is that better that just stealing a car without the airtag?

I would also estimate that the nicer the car, the more likely it's inaccessible later in a home garage, limited access parking deck, etc.

Re: Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

#323

Post by mthoms »

gruez wrote: post #296
avianlyric wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can steal the car in a quiet area at night when the odds of being caught are much lower. It allows the criminal to pick the time and place of the crime, rather than it being dictated by luck and coincidence.

Why not drive through a random suburb at night and randomly pick a car?

Because you’re not guaranteed to find one you’re looking for. If you do a little work up front you get much better odds.

I can think of other reasons:

You can target more vulnerable people (someone you know isn’t likely to come out and confront you).

And, you can observe the usage pattern of the car. For example: you might notice that the victim works nights on Fridays and leaves their car in a more vulnerable location than when at home.

Re: Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

#324

Post by mthoms »

blkhp19 wrote: post #260
tomerv wrote: post #257

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is that better that just stealing a car without the airtag?

Lmao exactly. This argument seems absurd - just steal the car it’s not like she was driving a lambo

We don’t know if the tag was placed there for car theft reasons. The perpetrator could want to know where she lives for something even more nefarious.

Re: Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

#325

Post by mthoms »

gorner wrote: post #166
kitcar wrote: post #109

In Canada Airtags are used for car theft https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/apple-tracking-devices-being-used...

Police are claiming they are, but have provided very limited evidence this is actually happening. https://twitter.com/neilcybart/status/1472634032827645962

What would police investigators possibly have to gain from making this up?

It’s not even an outlandish claim. Knowing the technology and the region this force covers it sounds perfectly reasonable to me that a least some thieves are experimenting with this technique.

Come on. Not everything is a conspiracy.

Re: Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

#326

Post by tekknik »

godelski wrote: post #154
kemayo wrote: post #86

This is news just because it's an Apple device being used for something that was already trivially possible. GPS trackers designed to be magnet-attached to a car which report their location via cell signal cost ~$20 on Amazon. You then tend to need to pay for either a SIM card or a subscription to the device maker's service -- bringing you up to about the cost of an AirTag. These are much harder to detect, as you mig…

While you're correct, I think there is something to be said about the popularization of the technology. Most people aren't aware of GPS trackers other than movies and think they are much harder to come by. AirTags are also less nefarious by nature. If you get caught with a GPS tracker on your person that's pretty suspicious. If you're caught placing an AirTag on someone's car it's easier to pretend you dropped it and…

> Most people aren't aware of GPS trackers other than movies and think they are much harder to come by. AirTags are also less nefarious by nature. If you get caught with a GPS tracker on your person that's pretty suspicious.

These are used in RC a fair amount, not sure why it'd be anymore suspicious than having an AirTag

Re: Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

#327

Post by tekknik »

mthoms wrote: post #318
jjallen wrote: post #276

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But still not as trivial as an Airtag. You need an iPhone and an Airtag. That’s it. No extra service. No waiting non-Prime or non-Apple shipping for a tracker to arrive. The first results in Google for me are $50 and are about 10-20x the size as an Airtag. Also multiple parts.

And, the units off Amazon have to be purchased with a credit card + shipped to your house. AirTags can be bought with cash much more anonymously. (Though I’m not sure how/if Apple can identify the associated iPhone if presented with a warrant.)

Walk into a hobby shop, buy a GPS tracker for a RC/drone, pay cash…

Re: Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

#328

Post by [deleted] »

kemayo wrote: post #86

This is news just because it's an Apple device being used for something that was already trivially possible. GPS trackers designed to be magnet-attached to a car which report their location via cell signal cost ~$20 on Amazon. You then tend to need to pay for either a SIM card or a subscription to the device maker's service -- bringing you up to about the cost of an AirTag. These are much harder to detect, as you mig…

[deleted]

Re: Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

#329

Post by mgh2 »

kemayo wrote: post #86

This is news just because it's an Apple device being used for something that was already trivially possible. GPS trackers designed to be magnet-attached to a car which report their location via cell signal cost ~$20 on Amazon. You then tend to need to pay for either a SIM card or a subscription to the device maker's service -- bringing you up to about the cost of an AirTag. These are much harder to detect, as you mig…

Great for business' network effects: you have to have an iPhone 11 or above (U1 chip) to avoid being tracked

Behind its "privacy" PR, Apple is secretly nudging people to buy more iPhones again...

Past tricks to make people upgrade:

1. Slowing down: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-51413724

2. "Other" storage: https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/666721

Re: Someone attached an AirTag to my car while I was in a bar

#330

Post by hrrsn »

28uwedj wrote: post #295
kemayo wrote: post #86

This is news just because it's an Apple device being used for something that was already trivially possible. GPS trackers designed to be magnet-attached to a car which report their location via cell signal cost ~$20 on Amazon. You then tend to need to pay for either a SIM card or a subscription to the device maker's service -- bringing you up to about the cost of an AirTag. These are much harder to detect, as you mig…

In Australia to activate a sim you need a form of ID, if you were to put a sim card in a GPS tracker you could easily be identified. air tags not so much.

Easy, use a foreign SIM and roam. This is pretty common for IoT devices.
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