An AirTag stalking cop has been charged and relieved of duty after he was found to have secretly installed two of the tracking devices in his ex-girlfriend’s car.
Fortunately one of Apple’s anti-stalking features worked in this case, and the woman heard the audible alerts …
Background
While Apple’s AirTags are not the first device of their kind and have a range of built-in anti-stalking features, the high profile of the company has led to multiple reports of misuse by stalkers.
AirTag stalking cop
The Miami Herald reports:
Apple built two anti-stalking features into AirTags, First, iPhone users will be automatically alerted if an unknown AirTag is moving with them. Second, AirTags will emit a sound if they are separated from their owner for a significant amount of time. The company later created an Android app that allows owners of competing phones to manually search for AirTags.
Despite all this, stalkers and thieves have been misusing AirTags. Apple recently beefed-up the protections by adding a new deterrent message and clearer alerts.
The abuse didn’t end with stalking.
Javier Magarin, 27, a patrol officer in the Northwest District, has been relieved of duty, the department said on Wednesday. Last week, the department charged him with misdemeanor stalking and illegal use of a tracking device — investigators say one of the AirTags found in her car was registered to his personal email […]
According to an arrest report, his ex-girlfriend was tipped off by the Apple security alert. This is what happened, according to the arrest report:
Magarin and the woman had a stormy breakup in March 2022, and the officer moved out of the woman’s home. But a few hours after he moved out, the woman heard the Apple alert beep “emitting somewhere within her vehicle.” Confronted by text, Magarin denied planting an AirTag in her car — and she could not find the device, despite the sounds.
For days, the sound persisted, as did Magarin’s denials […] Magarin finally admitted he’d placed the AirTag in her car, but he claimed he’d removed it. But he kept tracking her, and finally told her the device was inside her trunk, underneath a floor mat, the report said […]
Later, the woman got another alert on her phone warning her about another AirTag near her. She could hear the beeps from the tag, but could not find it. So she drove to the Miami-Dade Police Northwest District station to report the stalking.
Detectives found the AirTag “affixed” to the undercarriage of her car, wrapped in heavy-duty tape inside the rear bumper. Subpoenas revealed the recovered AirTag belonged to Magarin — and had been registered with his personal email.
Magarin invoked his right to remain silent when arrested, and told the paper that he had nothing to say.
When she threatened a restraining order, Magarin allegedly posted a photo on Instagram of a hand holding a Glock pistol with the caption: “I’ll do it in style for you,” the report said.
The harassment continued. According to police, he even logged into her personal email and canceled a flight she was scheduled to take.
Photo: Dickelbers/Wikimedia
