Apple AirTag hidden in a teddy bear helps catch thief

The police are getting well-versed in technology as they just used an AirTag to catch a burglar in South Carolina, US.

AirTag is Apple’s Bluetooth tracker that can help track lost or stolen items. (Unsplash)

Over the past few months, there have been several arguments around whether or not Bluetooth trackers like Apple AirTag are misused to track individuals. In response, Google and Apple joined forces to submit an industry specification to combat this problem. However, while this technology can be abused, it also has some benefits too, such as assisting people in keeping a check on lost or stolen items. Now, another unorthodox use case of AirTag has surfaced where it was used to track a criminal who committed burglaries.

AirTag helps catch burglar

As per a report by WMBF News, staff at the Sneaky Beagle restaurant in South Carolina, US, said the police tracked a burglar who stole their decoy safe thanks to an AirTag that was inside it. Astonishingly the AirTag was stuffed inside a teddy bear that was kept in the decoy safe as bait. The Bluetooth tracker pinged the safe's location at the culprit's home 30 minutes after the burglary, and the authorities later connected this to nine other burglaries in the neighborhood.

The police connected 52-year-old Samuel Smith to not just this burglary but a series of them that targeted places like Old Bull & Bush Pub and Eatery, Doyle's Pub & Grub, and Handley's in the vicinity during a crime spree that was spread over four months.

The Bluetooth tracker pinged the safe's location at Smith's home 30 minutes after the burglary, and the authorities later connected this to nine other burglaries in the neighborhood.

The report further states that Smith is currently facing nine counts of second-degree burglary. Thomas Erskine, Kitchen Manager at the Sneaky Beagle told WMBF News, “I think one of the guests that came in had ended up leaving a stuffed animal and we ended up putting an AirTag inside of the stuffed animal.”

How does the Apple AirTag work?

The AirTag is a small, circular tracking device that can be attached to items such as keys, bags, and even vehicles. It uses Apple's Find My network to provide the location of the item, making it easier to locate it when it's lost or stolen. It uses a combination of Bluetooth and crowdsourced data to provide the location of the item.