Apple released the AirTag in April to help people keep track of their keys, luggage, and other easy-to-lose items. Now the device is being used to monitor the location of something else: cars. Or, more specifically, high-end vehicles that car thieves have started tracking with AirTags.
"Since September 2021, officers have investigated five incidents where suspects have placed small tracking devices on high-end vehicles so they can later locate and steal them," York Regional Police say. "Brand name ‘air tags’ [sic] are placed in out-of-sight areas of the target vehicles when they are parked in public places like malls or parking lots. Thieves then track the targeted vehicles to the victim’s residence, where they are stolen from the driveway."
The police say that AirTags are being hidden in trailer hitches, bumpers, and other hard-to-spot places on vehicles. Because the AirTag was designed to be as unobtrusive as possible, there are plenty of hiding places for car thieves to place the device on an intended target. Stowing one of the trackers is quicker than actually stealing the car, and after the vehicle leaves the public parking lot, it's probably going to be kept somewhere private enough for the theft to occur.
Apple previously updated the AirTag to reduce the length of time one of the trackers would need to be away from its owner before it started to alert people who have been traveling in close proximity to the device as a safeguard against the product being used to stalk someone. (Although that change only helps iPhone owners; Android users are left with third-party solutions while they wait for the company to deliver the app it promised to release on the platform.)
AirTags are still designed to start issuing this warning sometime between eight and 24 hours after being separated from their owner. That leaves plenty of time for a car thief to place the device on a vehicle, track it to a more secluded area, and potentially steal it before the owner realizes they've picked up a stowaway AirTag. York Regional Police recommend storing cars in garages, purchasing steering wheel locks, or taking other steps to deter would-be thieves.