Apple AirTags increasingly being used by criminals to track victims
Correspondent Alexis McAdams joins 'America Reports' with the latest on the 'growing and dangerous trend.'
A man in Tennessee was charged after he allegedly admitted to placing an Apple AirTag on his ex-wife's car so that he could stalk her, according to police.
After the woman left Carlos Atkins a month ago, she told police that the man has been following her, according to WREG. She has had to move in with relatives as a result of the alleged stalking.
She told police that Atkins followed her home on Monday from a Mississippi restaurant to her sister's home in Memphis. Afterward, the victim called his daughter and asked her to tell Atkins not to contact her again.
Atkins contacted the woman again through her nephew's phone and allegedly admitted to following her. After telling Atkins that she found an AirTag located in her car, the man allegedly confessed and said that he placed it inside the vehicle.
An Apple AirTag device during the Spring Loaded virtual product launch in Tiskilwa, Illinois, U.S., on Tuesday, April 20, 2021. Apple Inc. launched a new accessory called AirTag that will find physical items like bags, wallets and keys, entering a market with competitors including Tile Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Apple AirTags are devices meant to keep track of personal belongings in the event they are lost, but have been used for nefarious purposes, such as tracking would-be victims.
The woman also told police that when she moved in with her brother, Atkins allegedly came and put roses on her car.
He also allegedly went to his ex's sister's house and told her that he came to see their kids.
TEXAS WOMAN FINDS APPLE AIRTAG TAPED UNDER CAR USED TO TRACK HER
Discussion of Apple AirTags by Washington Post reporter Geoff Fowler in San Francisco, California Monday March 14, 2022. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Atkins is being charged with electronic tracking of a motor vehicle.
A spokesperson for Apple has previously pointed Fox News Digital to a recent update and stated that it works with law enforcement to track down AirTags used for criminal purposes.
"AirTag was designed to help people locate their personal belongings, not to track people or another person’s property, and we condemn in the strongest possible terms any malicious use of our products. Unwanted tracking has long been a societal problem, and we took this concern seriously in the design of AirTag. It’s why the Find My network is built with privacy in mind, uses end-to-end encryption, and why we innovated with the first-ever proactive system to alert you of unwanted tracking. We hope this starts an industry trend for others to also provide these sorts of proactive warnings in their products," the spokesperson said.
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Apple AirTags (Apple)
"We design our products to provide a great experience, but also with safety and privacy in mind. Across Apple’s hardware, software, and services teams, we’re committed to listening to feedback and innovating to make improvements that continue to guard against unwanted tracking," the spokesperson added.
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