Apple's AirTag safety features credited for arrest of stalker

AirTag found hidden in a trailer hitch used for stalking

A woman was able to discover an AirTag in her vehicle's trailer hitch thanks to Apple's anti-stalking features, leading to a man's arrest.

The Apollo, Pennsylvania woman received an alert on her iPhone that an AirTag was tracking her location. She notified the police after discovering the device in her vehicle's trailer hitch.

According to WXPI News, the anti-stalking features implemented by Apple are what led to Ronald Roessler's arrest. Apple will provide law enforcement information about a discovered AirTag when used for stalking.

Roessler already had a history with the victim, who had a protection-from-abuse order against him. He denied involvement in placing the AirTag and deleted the device from his iPhone in front of a police officer. It's not clear how Roessler pitched to police how his AirTag ended up inside the woman's trailer hitch by accident.

The AirTag is meant for tracking down lost objects, but some abusers try to use them for nefarious purposes. Apple has implemented a series of features to prevent stalking and harassment via AirTag, but they aren't foolproof.

AirTag is an effective tracking device because of the size of the Find My network. Every iPhone, iPad, and Mac acts as a relay that will help an AirTag report its location.

Apple says it is committed to AirTag privacy and security. The company recently announced a series of new features that will bolster anti-stalking and inform user's that the device can be traced back to them.

Some lawmakers have taken the matter into their own hands. Legislation has already been proposed in Pennsylvania that would criminalize abuse of devices like AirTag.

Roessler was charged with stalking and violation of a protection-from-abuse order. He was released on bond.

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21 Comments

ihatescreennames

said about 2 years ago

AppleInsider said:

Roessler already had a history with the victim, who had a protection-from-abuse order against him. He denied involvement in placing the AirTag and deleted the device from his iPhone in front of a police officer. It's not clear how Roessler pitched to police how his AirTag ended up inside the woman's trailer hitch by accident.

So, it was his AirTag, since he was able to delete it from his phone (presumably from Find My) but he denies any involvement. Suuuure. I suppose it’s just a coincidence he had prior activity with this woman, too.

I’m reminded of those shows where cops would plant a car in a high theft area. The car would be stolen, the cops would disable it with the thief locked inside and then approach the their who immediately said, “Officer, I had nothing to do with it.”

hammeroftruth

said about 2 years ago

ihatescreennames said:

AppleInsider said:

Roessler already had a history with the victim, who had a protection-from-abuse order against him. He denied involvement in placing the AirTag and deleted the device from his iPhone in front of a police officer. It's not clear how Roessler pitched to police how his AirTag ended up inside the woman's trailer hitch by accident.

So, it was his AirTag, since he was able to delete it from his phone (presumably from Find My) but he denies any involvement. Suuuure. I suppose it’s just a coincidence he had prior activity with this woman, too.
I’m reminded of those shows where cops would plant a car in a high theft area. The car would be stolen, the cops would disable it with the thief locked inside and then approach the their who immediately said, “Officer, I had nothing to do with it.”

I sure miss the show “Bait Car”. The smarter thieves knew after getting shut down, that they just stole a bait car.

I wonder if crazy stalkers will invest in “burner iPhones” and fake AppleIDs to stalk their victims.

bakerzdosen

said about 2 years ago

hammeroftruth said:

I wonder if crazy stalkers will invest in “burner iPhones” and fake AppleIDs to stalk their victims.

Unless I'm missing something, it sure seems like that would be relatively easy to do:
• pay cash a cheap used iOS device from CL/FB Marketplace
• create new appleid with fake info
• pay cash for new airtag
• pay cash for new VPN access account - maybe not 100% necessary
• stalk using public wifi

That would only prevent you from getting caught and not the "stalkee" from learning there is an Airtag following them - unless one of the bullet points is to pick someone with Android...

stompy

said about 2 years ago

bakerzdosen said:

hammeroftruth said:

I wonder if crazy stalkers will invest in “burner iPhones” and fake AppleIDs to stalk their victims.

Unless I'm missing something, it sure seems like that would be relatively easy to do:
• pay cash a cheap used iOS device from CL/FB Marketplace
• create new appleid with fake info
• pay cash for new airtag
• pay cash for new VPN access account - maybe not 100% necessary
• stalk using public wifi
That would only prevent you from getting caught and not the "stalkee" from learning there is an Airtag following them - unless one of the bullet points is to pick someone with Android...

Why would a stalker choose your listed expenses / effort over a GPS tracker? Because they're an Apple fanboy?

igorsky

said about 2 years ago

bakerzdosen said:

hammeroftruth said:

I wonder if crazy stalkers will invest in “burner iPhones” and fake AppleIDs to stalk their victims.

Unless I'm missing something, it sure seems like that would be relatively easy to do:
• pay cash a cheap used iOS device from CL/FB Marketplace
• create new appleid with fake info
• pay cash for new airtag
• pay cash for new VPN access account - maybe not 100% necessary
• stalk using public wifi
That would only prevent you from getting caught and not the "stalkee" from learning there is an Airtag following them - unless one of the bullet points is to pick someone with Android...

This stalker sounds like a giant nerd.