If you look down at your phone and see a certain Apple alert, call 911 immediately, police are urging.
You could be in potential danger if you get a notification that reads: “AirTag found moving with you” and “The location of this AirTag can be seen by the owner.”
This is an alert to one of Apple’s small AirTag tracking devices – a useful item intended by the company to help you track misplaced items such as keys or a backpack.
What’s meant as a handy tool can actually be used for “nefarious uses” such as carjackings, stalking and unwarranted tracking, police in West Seneca, New York, warned in a Dec. 21 Facebook post.
“If you get an alert like this on your phone, you should immediately contact the police or drive to your nearest police station,” the department, located 29 miles southeast of Niagara Falls, said.
“The tags are small and can be hidden almost anywhere on a car, slipped into a purse, etc.”
Officers received two reports in the past month of Apple AirTags being placed on unsuspecting owners’ cars that were discovered through the iPhone alerts.
“No crimes were committed against these people after their discovery and there is no need to unnecessarily panic, but awareness of these things is important,” police noted.
Officers had found an AirTag underneath the bumper of one woman’s car, WGRZ reported.
Across Lake Ontario in Toronto, Canada’s metro area, “the trackers are being used to tag and steal desirable cars from residences,” authorities explained.
The potential danger attached to AirTags is nationwide, as police in Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Michigan, and Texas have reported the devices being used for reasons other than intended, according to NBC News.
One man in Michigan found an AirTag attached to his new Dodge Charger two days after purchase in early December, Fox 2 Detroit reported.
After shopping for two hours, he was alerted on his phone to an unknown AirTag that was tracking him, according to the outlet, and found it in a drain cap underneath the charger’s trunk.
“I was able to click on that notification and it gave me an option to have the air tag emit a sound and I heard it underneath my vehicle,” John Nelson told Fox 2 Detroit.
The Twin Falls sheriff’s office in Idaho warned “You Might Have A Stalker And Not Know It With This New Technology,” in a Dec. 15 Facebook post about AirTags, noting that domestic abuse victims might potentially be at a heightened risk.
Under state stalking laws in New York, it’s illegal to use GPS tracking devices to stalk others and a legislation was signed in 2014 prohibiting such action, called Jackie’s law.
The law was named after a domestic violence victim in West Seneca, the town’s police said in their news release.
“In a surging number of cases, stalkers are using GPS technology to track their victims, instill fear and destroy lives,” state senator Tim Kennedy said in a July 23, 2014 news release about Jackie’s Law.
For Android phone users, West Seneca police suggest downloading the Apple “Tracker Detect” app from the Google Play store to scan for any AirTag trackers potentially nearby.
There is also a non-Apple alternative to detect tracking devices called AirGuard, that can be downloaded through Google Play.
“Always be vigilant and aware of your surroundings!,” police said.
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