AirTag in Teddy Bear Leads to Arrest of Thief by Apple
In recent months, there has been ongoing debate regarding the potential misuse of Bluetooth trackers like Apple AirTag for tracking individuals. To address this concern, Google and Apple have collaborated to propose an industry specification as a solution. Despite the potential for abuse, these trackers also offer benefits, such as aiding in the recovery of lost or stolen belongings. Now, a new and unconventional application of AirTag has emerged, as it was utilized to track a criminal involved in a series of burglaries.
AirTag helps to break in
According to a report by WMBF News, staff at the Sneaky Beagle restaurant in South Carolina, US, said police tracked down a burglar who stole their bait box thanks to an AirTag inside it. Amazingly, the AirTag was stuffed inside a teddy bear, which was considered safe as bait. A Bluetooth tracking device pinged the safe’s location at the culprit’s home 30 minutes after the burglary, and authorities later linked it to nine other burglaries in the neighborhood.
Police linked 52-year-old Samuel Smith not only to this burglary but to a string of those targeting places like the Old Bull & Bush Pub and Eatery, Doyle’s Pub & Grub and Handley’s nearby during a crime spree that spread around. four months.
A Bluetooth tracking device pinged the safe’s location at Smith’s home 30 minutes after the burglary, and authorities later linked it to nine other burglaries in the neighborhood.
The report further states that Smith currently has nine counts of second-degree burglary. Thomas Erskine, Sneaky Beagle’s kitchen manager, told WMBF News, “I think one of the guests that came in had ended up leaving a stuffed animal and we ended up putting an AirTag inside the stuffed animal.”
How does Apple AirTag work?
The AirTag is a small, circular tracker that can be attached to items such as keys, bags, and even vehicles. It uses Apple’s Find My network to report an item’s location, making it easier to locate it when it’s lost or stolen. It uses a combination of Bluetooth and crowdsourced data to report the target’s location.
