AirTag’s Safety Features Alerted A Victim To A Stalking Attempt, Perpetrator Gets Arrested And Charged

A 63-year-old resident of Iowa was arrested and charged as he was using AirTags on multiple occasions to track the whereabouts of another person. Thankfully, updated anti-stalking features implemented by Apple alerted the victim of the stalker’s nefarious activities.

Stalker claims that the victim was married to him, used AirTags on the vehicle to track the victim’s location

Carl Steven Shawver of Bettendorf, Iowa, was taken into custody on Saturday for the unauthorized use of GPS, according to Keloland. A total of three AirTags were used to stalk the victim, with Shawver claiming that he was married to her and believed the spouse to be having an affair with someone. This prompted him to use the trackers on her car to figure out the locations.

Court documents state that on December 5, an individual was alerted by their smartphone that their movements were being tracked, which is likely Apple’s anti-stalking notification feature kicking in. The AirTag was found on the person’s spare tire, which was then taken to the West Des Moines Police station.

AirTag on a keychain

The very next day, Shawver visited the police station in an attempt to locate the victim. She later stated that Shawver was never married to her or had been in a relationship prior to this string of incidents. In any case, the stalker was not discouraged from resuming his activities after the discovery of the first AirTag, as the second one was located on December 7, which again alerted the victim through her phone that her movements were being tracked.

The AirTag was found in a wallet within a plastic sandwich bag and was again placed on top of the spare tire, which was the location of the first tracker. As for the third, it was found when the victim went to a mechanic shop and lifted the vehicle to find that the tracker was placed in a plastic case, which was then attached to the car.

Shawver has been taken to Polk County Jail on a $3,000 bond, with a hearing expected on December 19. Even though Apple has made relevant changes to its AirTag range to ensure that stalking is discouraged, these incidents continue to take place. Thankfully, potential victims are lucky enough to receive notifications on their devices, but even then, one report states that Apple’s efforts are not sufficient to curb the tracking capabilities of AirTags.