A carjacking attempt in Chicago inadvertently unlocked a new potential use for the Apple AirTags - catching a car thief. First launched in 2021, the AirTag functions as a tracker device that allows its user to locate often misplaced items. In the case of 25-year-old Andrew Moran, the AirTag attached to the car keys that he stole paved the way for his arrest.
AirTag, Inability to Drive Stick Shift Prevent Car Thief From Executing His Crime
According to a police report obtained by CWB Chicago, Moran attempted to take a car of an unnamed woman, unaware if he could actually drive the car. While holding his left hand in his jacket pocket, he told his victim that he had to take her car, an Audi A3, or else someone would "kill" him. The woman thought that Moran was carrying a gun, which was what made her follow his order and get out of the car.
Little did Moran know that the Audi A3 that he took from his victim was a stick shift, which he had no experience driving. Meanwhile, after getting away from the scene, the victim used the phone of a nearby store to call the police.
Moran tried to escape with the stolen vehicle, in spite of his struggle to move a stick shift. Fortunately, the police responded just in time and Moran had no choice but to flee as "police sirens grew louder."
Even as Moran managed to run away, surveillance cameras around the area were able to record his carjacking attempt. The car thief boarded the Blue Line train in an attempt to evade arrest after committing his crime.
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AirTag Technology Leads to the Car Thief's Arrest
Moran did not know that another misfortune would befall him that day after failing to drive a stick shift. He did not know that the victim's key fob that he was carrying had an AirTag. The police had the opportunity to get to Moran's location by using Find My app, and they confirmed that Moran was riding the train.
The police was able to arrest Moran by intercepting the train at the Addison station. They found the victim's key fob on the train car, which a passenger claimed that Moran dropped when they arrived, 9to5Mac reported.
Following his arrest, Moran reportedly spit on the face of one officer and kicked the other police. This happened during his arrest and when they reached the police station. Therefore, aside from vehicular hijacking, Moran was also charged with aggravated battery of peace officers. During a court appearance, Judge Charles Beach order him to post a $15,000 bail for his release.
According to SafeWise, the Apple AirTag emits Bluetooth signal to connect to nearby active devices covered by Find My network. From there, the AirTag's location can be triangulated based on the strength of the Bluetooth signal that was received by those devices. The location can be pinned on a map, while the rest of the location details are uploaded to cloud memory.
Aside from Bluetooth, AirTags can be located with beeping and Precision Finding.
Read Also: Apple Is Being Sued for Facilitating Cyberstalking Through AirTag Abuse
