- Police in Canada have warned that thieves are using Apple AirTags to track high-end vehicles.
- York Regional Police said thieves would track the vehicles to owners’ driveways, then steal them.
- Apple’s AirTags are intended to help users locate lost personal objects.
Police in Canada have warned that thieves are using Apple AirTags to track luxury cars before stealing them.
York Regional Police said in a statement Thursday that since September, officers had investigated five incidents in which suspects surreptitiously placed AirTags in “out-of-sight areas” on high-end vehicles while they were parked in public places. The thieves then tracked the target vehicles to their owners’ homes, broke into them, and stole them, police said.
Apple released AirTags in April 2021, touting them as a handy device for owners to tag and track their belongings should they ever go missing. The devices use
Bluetooth
signals to connect to Apple’s “Find My” network.
York Regional Police advised vehicle owners to “inspect your vehicle regularly and call police if you notice any suspicious potential tracking devices.”
The police also recommended that owners park their cars in locked garages, use steering wheel locks, and install locks on their car data ports to reduce the risk of theft.
Apple did not immediately respond when contacted by Insider about the thefts.
The company rolled out privacy updates for AirTags in June, including one that would make the tracking devices beep at random intervals when separated from their owners.
