[tall0n]

Yesterday I had the exterior and interior of my 2020 G29 detailed. After paying and getting ready to leave, I noticed an Apple AirTag on my console. I asked the detailer where it came from and he said he found it under the passenger seat and thought it was just misplaced.

Im still trying to think of how it got there. I bought the car new in June 2020, and AirTags did not come out until 2021. Sometimes I park with the top down, and we often use a valet when my wife or I go out.

What's concerning me is that there are many news articles about thieves stealing high end vehicles using AirTags.

I kept the AirTag and still have it, finding out how to remove the battery while still at the detailer so it isn't transmitting any more, but this has made me paranoid.

Something new to worry about....

[Westside Guy]

Apple tells you how to detect "Unwanted Tracking" by Airtags in this article. They even tell you how to find unwanted tracking using an Android device.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212227

[tall0n]

Thank you. I had received a notification to something to that effect but had disregarded it.

[Westside Guy]

Check these articles out.

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/ir...crime/3187905/

https://www.thestreet.com/technology...-airtag-murder

https://www.fox7austin.com/news/appl...how-to-stop-it

[CJ421]

Could you rule out that you had a passenger in the last ~3 years that might have carried an Air Tag and it fell out of their pocket?

Charles

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by CJ421

Could you rule out that you had a passenger in the last ~3 years that might have carried an Air Tag and it fell out of their pocket?

Charles

If someone like that had an Airtag that went missing wouldn't they simply track it themselves and locate it?

[RigaTony1982]

Originally Posted by CJ421

Could you rule out that you had a passenger in the last ~3 years that might have carried an Air Tag and it fell out of their pocket?

Charles

Do people just carry AirTags around in their pocket though? And if you lost it, your phone would tell you exactly where it was. Assuming if he had a passenger he knew the person and they would figure out they lost it in his car.

[tall0n]

Originally Posted by CJ421

Could you rule out that you had a passenger in the last ~3 years that might have carried an Air Tag and it fell out of their pocket?
Charles

You are right in that I cannot rule that scenario out.

[Pprior]

I believe you can report this to apple as unwanted surveillance and they will track it back to the purchaser.

[Bimmerfun82]

Originally Posted by tall0n

You are right in that I cannot rule that scenario out.

Perhaps a purse or backpack is more likely than a pocket. But unless you and such person had a fallout, or were mere acquaintances, it stands to reason such a person would likely reach out unless they completely forgot about it and didn't ever look at their airtag locations.

If you have an iphone it would alert you. If it didn't, then the battery died and more likley to be a case of lost airtag.

If not, then super shady and glad the detailer found it.

[tall0n]

Originally Posted by Pprior

I believe you can report this to apple as unwanted surveillance and they will track it back to the purchaser.

According to Apples own support documents (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212227), I have to contact law enforcement and they can write up and serve a subpoena to Apple to see who it belongs to. In order to get a subpoena, the detective would have to go to a judge and have them sign it. I live in the Dallas area, and if I were to go to the police station and ask them to start an investigation to track the AirTag, I would be laughed at.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by tall0n

According to Apples own support documents (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212227), I have to contact law enforcement and they can write up and serve a subpoena to Apple to see who it belongs to. In order to get a subpoena, the detective would have to go to a judge and have them sign it. I live in the Dallas area, and if I were to go to the police station and ask them to start an investigation to track the AirTag, I would be laughed at.

For all you know there may be a ring using Airbags to track and steal cars that is operating in your area that your local police department is investigating. Why not make an inquiry?

[RLF]

You mentioned you use valet parking services often. Just a thought, but would valets use AirTags to help locate cars they park? And if so, perhaps one was left in your car by mistake.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by RLF

You mentioned you use valet parking services often. Just a thought, but would valets use AirTags to help locate cars they park? And if so, perhaps one was left in your car by mistake.

I seriously doubt that valet firms would use airtags to locate the vehicles in their lots. They usually work on very tight margins and they already have systems in place to locate cars. In addition, the workers in these valet lots are not paid a great deal of money and would most likely leave some airtags in the cars as they are rushing around parking and returning cars to customers.

[Skinbc]

Wife or significant other?

[tall0n]

Originally Posted by Skinbc

Wife or significant other?

No significant other besides my wife of 30+ years. She already has “Find My Friends” enabled on my iPhone so she doesn’t need an AirTag.

[Westside Guy]

I still like my idea of checking with the local police department to see if there is a car theft ring in your neighborhood using the AirPods. 😉