BMW owner gets his stolen car back thanks to the Apple AirTag
Apple strongly suggests that AirTag users call in the cops when they track down the location of their stolen property. Confronting a thief without law enforcement present can result in some serious harm to the victim. Having said that, we can tell you about a situation where the victim of a car theft was able to get his vehicle back by confronting the criminal after tracking the car using an AirTag and the Find My app. Even though he called the cops, they weren't present when he sent the car thief running away without anyone getting hurt.
Philip Obando, living in California, decided to hide an Apple AirTag inside his BMW just in case it was stolen. As he told NBC News (via AppleInsider), one morning, Obando woke up to discover that his car was gone. The car's dashcam documented the thief taking the car through a car wash, smoking inside the vehicle, and even sleeping in it. While this was going on, Obando used the Find My app to track his car as it was driven through Long Beach.
Even though he notified the police, Obando and his wife decided to get in their other car and track his BMW using the Find My app. Philip and his wife were surprised to spot the car at a local gas station where the thief was filling up the tank. With his wife urging him on, Obando confronted the criminal and told him that he owned the car and to prove it, he used the duplicate key fob that he had to remotely sound the car's horn.
Perhaps this is where Philip lucked out. Instead of pulling a weapon on him, the car thief just ran away allowing Philip to take back his vehicle without having to put up a fight. And afterward, Obando discovered that the thief had left several knives inside the vehicle. The incident could easily have gone a different way which is why you should leave it up to the cops to get back your stolen property even if you know where it is.
The crook also made a major faux pas by leaving his wallet in the car which held his driver's license. This helped the cops quickly ID the suspect who happened to be a neighbor of Obando and his wife.
The AirTag is great at tracking stolen items although once again, we would agree with Apple that once you find the location of your stolen property, leave the retrieval of it to law enforcement. On the other side of the coin, in Canada criminals place the item tracker on cars that are in high demand by gangs for parts, or for the entire vehicle as is. Ironically, the Find My app is used but this time it is the criminal using the app to find the location of the tagged car. Using the dark of the night as a cover, the vehicle is stolen.
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