Criminals Stealing Cars Using Apple AirTags

Canadian police are warning car owners of a new scam used by car thieves to steal vehicles. An AirTag attached without the knowledge of the owner enables the criminals to track the car to the car park at home and steal it there.

As the CTVnews writes, several such cases have been investigated since September. The thieves attached AirTags to the respective cars when the vehicles were parked in public parking lots. Since the tracking device is only the size of a coin, an AirTag can easily be hidden behind the connection flap of a pickup. This allows the thieves to follow the car up to the driveway and strike at night.

After the car has been located, the thieves open a door with the help of a screwdriver. The diagnostic port is then used to couple a key you have brought with you to the vehicle.

To make car thefts much more difficult, the Canadian police recommend parking vehicles in a locked garage. Most of the stolen cars were parked in the driveway. In addition, you should lock the diagnostic port to prevent access to the system. Luxury car owners should think about security cameras.

Apple offers an anti-tracking solution

Apple has been working on an anti-stalking function that is supposed to inform a resident about unfamiliar AirTags in his house. However, the feature is currently only available for iPhones, so that owners of Android smartphones are not warned. It is also conceivable that some car owners do not understand the notice correctly and therefore does not recognize the danger. An Android app for scanning AirTags in the area should be released in the coming months.