AirTag Used by Federal Agents to Bust Illegal Narcotics Manufacturer

[Sasparilla]

I have used Tile in the past, but switched to AirTags a few months ago. Tracking works fine, but it makes a chirping sound every time I move the wallet, keys or laptop quickly. This never happened with Tile.

I've noticed this happening with my airtag lately (on my car keys tied with the air tag paired to my phone)...comes to work with me. Sits in my coat on my desk 2-3 feet away from my phone the entire day. When I pick my coat up at the end of the day to walk out (even with my phone unlocked and less than a foot away in advance - was testing today) it starts chirping away, going on and on, day after day after day. No warning on my phone so not quite sure what its on about. Since its a quiet office everyone around me notices.

While its found my keys a couple of times in the past, its so annoying now, I'm weighing taking out the batt and throwing it in the drawer to gather dust. This started recently so one of their updates for their airtags (trying to protect us all) has made it annoying to use for the use case it was designed for. I definitely want the capability but it can't be a pain or embarrassment to use.

 

[decisionfatigue]

Government definitely isn't the "good guys". This sort of tech will be used against actual good guys eventually.

You're already tracked via your cellphone number and cell tower triangulation. Airtags would be the least of my worries here.

 

[Jimmy Bubbles]

How do they get around the "an AirTag is with you" notification?

Glad you asked:

 

[ian87w]

Spent 13 years in the US Navy and now 10 years as a LEO with a local government. I can attest that the stuff we’re issued is pure trash, for the most part. Most USFOR-A and Service Members I worked with overseas and LEO’s in my current department opt to buy their own equipment lol.

Yup. Once they become a sole vendor for govt contracts, they don't care about the actual stuff they're selling. It's free money.

 

[robd003]

Sure, it's an interesting use case, but wasn't the address where the package was going available and visible to the border agents / DEA? In other words, why was an airtag needed to track it?

It gets delivered to an address where nothing illegal is stored. (Think girlfriends apartment or a rented UPS box) Then the items are transported where illegal activity happens.

 

[257Loner]

Tim Cook knew what he was doing: creating a mesh of consumer devices to track everyone all the time. Wait, what if Tim Cook was the Batman?

And just as Morgan Freeman said in The Dark Knight, tracking people with technology is unethical. AirTags is one creation by Apple that instantly disappointed me on ethical grounds. The hubris of tech companies like Apple has led them to create the ability to track people against their knowledge, leading to the dangers of stalking and kidnapping. People's safety should always come before digital conveniences. Apple should stop making AirTags today and not be a willing party to people being tracked and put in harm's way.

Reports on the dangers of AirTags:

Apple AirTags causing major security concerns over reports of stalking

Apple's popular tracking device has been linked to alleged stalking cases, and prompted calls for improved safety.

abcnews.go.com

'AirTag found moving with you': Apple devices linked to suspected stalking and theft

AirTags, not the first tracking tool to become the source of concern about their use for nefarious purposes, have been linked to stalking and car thefts.

www.nbcnews.com

State Officials Warn of Apple AirTag Stalking Danger

The attorneys general of New York and Pennsylvania warn that Apple AirTag trackers are being abused to stalk people, which is a felony.

www.cnet.com

Stalkers’ “chilling” use of AirTags spurs class-action suit against Apple

Class action covers anyone in the US who owns iOS or Android devices.

arstechnica.com

Are Apple AirTags Being Used to Track People and Steal Cars? (Published 2021)

Privacy groups sounded alarms about the coin-sized location-tracking devices when they were introduced. Now people are concerned those fears are being realized.

www.nytimes.com

Two Women Sue Apple Over AirTag Stalking (Published 2022)

One woman found an AirTag tracking device in the wheel well of her car and a second woman found an AirTag in her child’s backpack, the lawsuit said.

www.nytimes.com

 

[jimbobb24]

Apple must be so embarrassed. The next AirTag update is going to make it sing nonstop and signal everyone in a mile radius “Someone (maybe federal agents) has deployed an AirTag. Watch out!”

 

[bookofxero]

There's lots of waste in government spending. I mean the government spends $1280 on a coffee cup

No, they do not. That is clearly a misunderstanding of the accounting practices and how certain line items are aggregated.

 

[jimbobb24]

Well if your dog gets into sniffing cocaine, then I think you’d be alright to track.

Or your bear!?!

 

[Lcgiv]

My guess would have been that criminals use burner phones. An iPhone would make for an expensive burner phone, so odds are better that criminials use cheap Android-based phones or cheap dumb (flip) phones as their burners. The use of non-iPhones means they're less likely to detect an AirTag nearby.

If from China might be older cheaper oppos，vivo, Redmi (Xiaomi), or “old people phones”. Anything before 4g won’t work on the network so probably not the isis Nokia IED tricks

 

[jagernator]

I'm a sysadmin for a federal data center that hosts several of the US government's websites such as the VA, Medicare, the IRS, and more. What I just told y'all is not confidential information. We're not the War Thunder forums lmao

Wumao and others are on this site and not taken seriously by MR admin. OPSEC. Nobody here needed to know anything about what you do, but now, assuming you’re telling the truth, we do and they do. So we know you work with databases that handle sensitive info for veterans and clearance holders, plus socials for everyone else… all in a place to engage you with some made up interest in all your forum posts. Nice

 

[dannyyankou]

No, they do not. That is clearly a misunderstanding of the accounting practices and how certain line items are aggregated.

Not true at all, at least in this case. If you read the article, the air force themselves say that thanks to 3D printing, they are able to reduce the cost of fixing the cups from $1280 down to 50 cents. I'm sure accounting practices affect the cost of certain things on the balance sheet, but this isn't one of those cases.

 

[Robert.Walter]

The speaker can be removed easily. There are multiple YouTube Videos showing how to do this. I would hope the DEA did this...

You can't get around tracking notifications but if it's going through the mail that's probably not going to happen till the item gets to the destination.

It’s not even necessary to disassemble the speaker up make for a silent AT.

I have an AT in a belkin holder. I carry it in the change purse of my wallet. I have a 2€¢ coin in there. I noticed that the magnet had pulled this little coin into the center of the AirTag. The holder kept it from being brushed off.

As long as that coin was held there by the magnet the AT could emit no noise.

 

[Robert.Walter]

Sure, it's an interesting use case, but wasn't the address where the package was going available and visible to the border agents / DEA? In other words, why was an airtag needed to track it?

confirmation of delivery.

 

[Robert.Walter]

I'm a sysadmin for a federal data center that hosts several of the US government's websites such as the VA, Medicare, the IRS, and more. What I just told y'all is not confidential information. We're not the War Thunder forums lmao

IRS? IRS!! IRS!!!

When are we going to be able to use login.gov for IRS??

Tax season 23 is here. They promised after end tax season 22.

In the meantime they’ve deactivated the old IRS own authentication feature for some of us, trying to push ID.ME.

There were news reports that it would be this week but still no show.

 

[BGPL]

Sure, it's an interesting use case, but wasn't the address where the package was going available and visible to the border agents / DEA? In other words, why was an airtag needed to track it?

They knew the recipient was either a reshipper or not the final destination - it could go to another location for manufacturing or to another distributor, and this is the probable cause they needed for a search warrant. It's likely the tracker was put in with the supply and not just in the with the packaging.

 

[Robert.Walter]

Quite the jump there at the end. As the saying goes: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."

Or lack of competition.

 

[Robert.Walter]

They use Androids due to preference, since their work phones are iPhones they want something different for when they're home. Is that so odd to you?

Seems odd to me. You want variety? Get a different color iPhone case or model.

 

[svish]

Unique use of AirTag!!

 

[bLackjackj]

You can't get around tracking notifications but if it's going through the mail that's probably not going to happen till the item gets to the destination.

Who's going to be next to the cargo long enough? Lol, do you think there is someone next to it,..it's cargo!

 

[fakestrawberryflavor]

That's really dope!

You win the internet today, sir.

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Seems odd to me. You want variety? Get a different color iPhone case or model.

Why don't you tell my coworkers that yourself then?

 

[steve09090]

Glad you asked:

That’s removing the speaker. It doesn’t stop the notification.

 

[jlc1978]

How do they get around the "an AirTag is with you" notification?

 

[jlc1978]

Wouldn’t the AirTag notify the people transporting the drugs that it is travelling alongside them? Did Apple make a special exception and disable that feature with this particular tracker?

Chances are whoever got the package didn’t have an iPhone or was not using it to avoid being tracked by the cell phone signal.

Even if they did discover it, the DEA no doubt could get a warrant based on the Airtag location and recipient.

If a consumer grade tracker is more reliable than the ones the government used, maybe they should question that vendor providing such subpar devices using taxpayer dollars. Smell like corruption.

An Airtag was likely cheaper, easier to get, and disposable. The agent could buy it without having to go through contracting. If it gets lost no one cares about a ~25$ item.