A London couple took matters into their own hands when police were slow to respond to the theft of their Jaguar, using an Apple AirTag to track down and recover the stolen vehicle themselves.
Apple Insider reports that when Mia Forbes Pirie and her husband Mark Simpson discovered their $57,000 Jaguar E-Pace had been stolen from their home in Hammersmith, London, they immediately contacted the police. However, the response they received from the Metropolitan Police was less than satisfactory. Despite the couple informing the police that an AirTag placed in the vehicle was providing its exact location, the authorities only offered a “vague” response about potentially sending a patrol car and updating them if any progress was made.
Unwilling to wait for the police to take action, Forbes Pirie and Simpson decided to recover the car themselves. “I wanted to act quite quickly as my fear was that we would find the AirTag and not the car when it was discarded on to the street without the car,” Forbes Pirie told BBC News. The couple informed the police of their intention to head to the location provided by the AirTag, but were simply told to call back if they required assistance at the scene.
Apple AirTags are not always a tool to fight crime. As Breitbart News previously reported, crooks have used them to stalk victims or to aid them in car thefts:
Suspects have reportedly been placing the AirTags in “out of sight” areas of cars such as the inside of gas caps or various other crevices. After following their targets home, the criminals are reportedly able to hack the ignition of the vehicles with an electronic device “typically used by mechanics to reprogram the factory setting” before stealing the car from the driveway of its owner.
NBC News now reports that criminals are continuing to use the devices, telling the story of one woman who was alerted via her iPhone that an AirTag was “Found Moving With You.” The woman, worried to go home for fear of someone tracking her, stayed somewhere else for the night before having someone search her car. An Apple AirTag was found attached inside a wheel well.
Describing the experience as “a bit of an adventure” and “exciting,” Forbes Pirie admitted that she didn’t believe the car thieves would cause them harm, but rather attempt to flee. The couple found their Jaguar parked in Chiswick, with no sign of the thieves. It appeared that the criminals had managed to bypass the car’s built-in immobilizer, but were thwarted by a second, aftermarket immobilizer the couple had installed.
Ironically, the couple had to “steal” their own car back, as the additional immobilizer prevented them from simply starting the vehicle and driving away. They were required to contact the car company and prove ownership before the Jaguar could be unlocked for them.
While the use of AirTags to track stolen vehicles has become increasingly common, Apple and many law enforcement agencies strongly advise against pursuing thieves for personal safety reasons. Forbes Pirie acknowledged this, stating, “I thought the police would act quicker considering they had a location for it, but I know they also very stretched.”
Read more at Apple Insider here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
