This week the Belgium Commissioner Bogaert warns against misuse of Apple’s Airtag by malicious persons.
The Airtag is the size of a 2 euro coin and can accurately determine the location of an object. The ideal solution for absent-minded people you may think? Yes, but not without danger because this tracking tool can also be used by people with bad intentions. “It has been found to be used by car thieves in several countries.
When they find a luxurious model, they glue the device to it and connect it to their phone. This way they can discreetly follow the owner,” says Commissioner Olivier Bogaert, cybersecurity specialist. They will then be able to steal the vehicle undisturbed when the owner is absent.
Another trend was reported by a woman who was being followed by her ex-partner. He also had an Airtag fitted under the bumper of the car, so he was able to monitor her movements and then sent her mocking and insulting messages. Since the woman owned an iPhone, she was notified that an unknown Airtag was nearby. Thanks to the ‘Locate’ function, she was able to track him down.”
Custom Airtag Settings
As a result of these unpleasant experiences, Apple has changed a series of settings. It used to take three days for an alarm to sound when an Airtag was nearby, but now it’s much faster. Nevertheless, make sure your iPhone’s system is up to date with at least iOS 14.
If you have an Android smartphone, you can install the Tracker Detect application that will alert you when there is a tracker nearby.