Apple’s AirTags were originally intended for users to keep track of their keys and bags in case they went missing, but it seems that people have started finding other uses for it, whether it be to track down a stolen bicycle or used by a lawyer to prove that city officials were trashing the property of homeless people.
This is why it doesn’t really come as a surprise as we hear yet another story of how the AirTags were used to track down stolen property. This time, the story comes from Dan Guido, the CEO of Trail of Bits, a cybersecurity firm. According to Guido, his electric scooter was stolen a few days ago, but he noted on Twitter that little did the thieves know, he had previously hidden two AirTags in them.
My scooter was stolen last week. Unknown to the thief, I hid two Airtags inside it. I was able to use the Apple Find My network and UWB direction finding to recover the scooter today. Here’s how it all went down:
— Dan Guido (@dguido) August 10, 2021
Guido says the reason for two trackers was that one would act as a decoy and was placed in the wheel well. Presumably the idea is that if thieves were to find it, they would dispose of it and wouldn’t search anywhere else. The other was hidden inside the stem of the scooter and covered in black duct tape.
According to Guido, NYPD officers were initially reluctant to help as they weren’t familiar with the tech and thought that Guido might be using them to help him steal something, but he ultimately persuaded them. Guido ultimately located his scooter, although there was a bit of drama involving death threats, so if you want the full rundown you can check out the Twitter thread above which actually makes for a rather compelling tale.
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