Suspects use Apple AirTag to track, ambush Florida couple

Suspects use Apple AirTag to track, ambush Florida couple
By: Mashable Posted On: October 16, 2025 View: 31

Apple has a contingency for this sort of thing.
 By 
Alex Perry
 on 
Apple AirTag dramatically shrouded in darkness
This is scary, but there are ways you can prevent it. Credit: Brendan Smialowski / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images

Apple's AirTag device has a knack for saving people from serious headaches, but as one Florida couple found out, it can also be used for nefarious means.

A couple in the Tampa area fell victim to an attempted abduction at their home after two would-be captors allegedly planted an AirTag on the couple's SUV, tracking them to their house, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (via the New York Post). The two suspects, Odardy Maldonado-Rodriguez and Luis Charles, approached the victims as they exited their car and forced them inside the garage at gunpoint.

Luckily, a home alarm went off and the suspects fled shortly thereafter. Police then came and found the AirTag underneath the SUV. Both suspects were tracked down, arrested, and charged with multiple crimes, including armed kidnapping, armed burglary, and illegal installation of a tracking device.

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How to know if an unwanted AirTag has been planted near you

Screenshot of an iPhone displaying an unknown AirTag notification
This is what the alert looks like. Credit: Apple

This is obviously a terrifying situation that could theoretically happen to anyone, so fortunately, Apple has a potential solution for it:

  1. Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services

  2. Turn Location Services on

  3. Scroll down and go to System Services, then turn on Significant Locations

  4. Turn on Bluetooth

  5. Go to Settings > Notifications > Tracking Notifications

  6. Turn on Allow Notifications

Once you've done all of that, you should be eligible to receive an alert on your phone anytime an unknown AirTag is on or near you. Tapping the push notification will open Find My, which will give you some assistance in finding the AirTag so you can remove it.

Of course, that's just for iPhone users. Android users also have the ability to be alerted about unwanted tracking devices. Here's how to do it:

  1. Go to Settings > Safety & emergency > Unknown tracker alerts

  2. Turn on Allow Alerts if it's not already turned on

Topics Apple

journalist alex perry looking at a smartphone
Alex Perry
Tech Reporter

Alex Perry is a tech reporter at Mashable who primarily covers video games and consumer tech. Alex has spent most of the last decade reviewing games, smartphones, headphones, and laptops, and he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. He is also a Pisces, a cat lover, and a Kansas City sports fan. Alex can be found on Bluesky at yelix.bsky.social.

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