The York Regional Police (YRP) in the suburbs north of Toronto reports that auto thieves are using Apple AirTags to steal cars.
Carjackers hunt for desirable cars in public places, such as shopping mall parking lots, according to the YRP's public service broadcast. When they identify a car they desire, they hide an AirTag inside the gas-fill flap door, in a tow hitch, inside a bumper, or in an external electrical port where the owner is unlikely to see it.
"We've started to notice a new trend emerging in the auto-theft industry," said Detective Jeff McKercher. "It's these tagging devices using GPS and Bluetooth technology, and they're using that to install on different vehicles that they're looking to steal."
Since September, officers have investigated five incidents in which suspects used the unassuming tracking equipment to commit grand theft auto.
Before driving away from the victim's driveway in their own car, criminals can hijack the vehicle's ignition with an electrical gadget "typically used by mechanics to reprogram the factory setting."
"By using an iPhone, they can always tell where the vehicle's location is," McKercher added.
McKercher said that Lexus, Toyota, and Honda crossover SUVs currently seemed to be the most desirable for car thieves in the Toronto suburbs, along with the eternally popular Ford F-Series trucks.
The YRP never uses the word "Apple" in the public service announcement. The images and language, however, make it very clear what kind of devices they're talking about.
Law enforcement recommends car owners to park "in a locked garage" if they have one as a precautionary measure, as most automobiles have been stolen immediately from victims' driveways thus far. Installing locks on the steering wheel and data port, as well as a video monitoring system, is also recommended, according to cops.
YRP also stated that over 2,000 car thefts have occurred in the past 12 months.
Meanwhile, AirTags have been utilized in the United States to track down stolen vehicles. On Twitter in August, Brooklyn cybersecurity CEO Dan Guido described his dramatic recovery of a stolen scooter. Guido was able to locate the vehicle quickly after it was taken because to two AirTags he had hidden on it using black duct tape.
If an AirTag is separated from its associated iPhone for more than 8 hours, it will begin to chirp. Even yet, car thieves have plenty of time, and the chirps may be lost in the din of a car's engine.
When a "mystery" AirTag that isn't associated with your iPhone gets home with you, your iPhone is meant to notify you. However, this does not always appear to work, and those without iPhones will not receive the alerts.
