PHOENIX — One Valley woman claims an Apple AirTag was tracking her location.
The device is supposed to help people keep track of things like their keys and wallets, but this woman told ABC15 she got a notification on her phone that an AirTag was moving with her.
The woman from Scottsdale, who is too afraid to share her name or face on camera, said she started making calls trying to figure out what to do.
“So, immediately I called Apple to try and figure out, you know, if they were able to locate the AirTag and how to distinguish it or disable it,” said the woman. “They would be able to disable it if I physically have the tag.”
So, she searched around her car with no luck.
“So, my friends and I tried to empty out the car, tried to play the sound [and] couldn’t do that,” said the woman.
ABC15 confirmed with Sun Devil Auto that they also did a courtesy check on the woman’s car but didn’t find a device.
The woman said they checked in the undercarriage, hood, and license plate but didn’t find anything.
She said she contacted Scottsdale Police Department but was told to file a report once she found the tag.
“The fact that they have my location, and the tag is still there,” said the woman. “I wouldn’t feel safe going home.”
For now, she’s staying at her boyfriend’s.
She showed ABC15 through 'Find My iPhone' a map that she said shows the tag tracking her location.
Apple recommended she turn her location services off, but she turned them back on to show us.
Inside a local Apple store, ABC15 was told AirTags use the “Find My” network on iPhones to send out a Bluetooth signal.
If there is an AirTag that’s separated from the owner and is moving with someone, Apple devices get a notification. If you find an AirTag, you can get information from it and disable it.
The devices are also supposed to play a sound so they are easier to locate.
ABC15 checked with several police departments, including Phoenix and Tempe, who said they aren’t aware of any specific cases like this.
Scottsdale police confirmed they got several calls from the woman and they encourage anyone in these situations to reach out.
They said this would be the first case of something like this in 2022.
Last fall, the department did do an awareness campaign to warn people about the misuse of this type of technology, especially in domestic violence cases.
But the misuse of AirTags to track unsuspecting victims has been reported in Mohave County in Arizona and other states.
Sun Devil Auto said the device could have fallen off, but this was enough to put this woman on edge.
She said she recently moved to the Valley and didn’t know of any reason someone would want to track her car.
“I don’t feel safe going home,” the woman told ABC15.
