David Bridges
Key Insights
- Incident: A Florida couple experienced an attempted abduction due to an AirTag planted on their vehicle.
- Response: The couple was forced into their garage but managed to escape when a home alarm triggered.
- Legal Actions: The suspects were arrested and charged with serious crimes, including armed kidnapping.
- Awareness: Apple provides features to alert users about unwanted AirTags nearby.
Apple’s AirTag device has a knack for saving people from serious headaches, but as one Florida couple found out, it can also be used for nefarious means.
A couple in the Tampa area fell victim to an attempted abduction at their home after two would-be captors allegedly planted an AirTag on the couple’s SUV, tracking them to their house, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office (via the New York Post). The two suspects, Odardy Maldonado-Rodriguez and Luis Charles, approached the victims as they exited their car and forced them inside the garage at gunpoint.
Luckily, a home alarm went off and the suspects fled shortly thereafter. Police then came and found the AirTag underneath the SUV. Both suspects were tracked down, arrested, and charged with multiple crimes, including armed kidnapping, armed burglary, and illegal installation of a tracking device.
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How to know if an unwanted AirTag has been planted near you
This is what the alert looks like.
Credit: Apple
This is obviously a terrifying situation that could theoretically happen to anyone, so fortunately, Apple has a potential solution for it:
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Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services
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Turn Location Services on
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Scroll down and go to System Services, then turn on Significant Locations
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Turn on Bluetooth
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Go to Settings > Notifications > Tracking Notifications
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Turn on Allow Notifications
Once you’ve done all of that, you should be eligible to receive an alert on your phone anytime an unknown AirTag is on or near you. Tapping the push notification will open Find My, which will give you some assistance in finding the AirTag so you can remove it.
Of course, that’s just for iPhone users. Android users also have the ability to be alerted about unwanted tracking devices. Here’s how to do it:
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Go to Settings > Safety & emergency > Unknown tracker alerts
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Turn on Allow Alerts if it’s not already turned on
Daniel Mercer
