How to catch a package thief: This California woman used an Apple AirTag

A Southern California woman fed up with her packages getting stolen out of her post office box sent an Apple AirTag to the address and cleverly tracked down the suspected thief, police said.

The woman had had several items stolen from her mailbox at the Los Alamos Post Office already when she thought of the idea, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday. Apple’s $29 AirTags have become popular items since their 2021 release, helping users keep tabs of anything from their lost keys and wallets to luggage.

On Monday morning, sheriff’s deputies were called to the post office where the woman told officials her mail had been stolen again—including the package with the AirTag.

Law enforcement tracked the AirTag to a block in Santa Maria, about 16 miles (26 kilometers) from the post office and arrested two suspects: a 27-year-old woman from Santa Maria and a 37-year-old man from Riverside.

They located the package with the AirTag among the victim’s mail, as well as items believed to have been stolen from more than a dozen other people. The woman declined to be identified, the sheriff’s department said.

The two suspects were booked in jail on charges of possession of checks with intent to commit fraud, conspiracy, and identity and credit card theft. The 37-year-old was also booked on a burglary charge and several other theft warrants from Riverside County.

The sheriff’s department commended the mail theft victim for contacting law enforcement so they could apprehend the suspects rather than attempting to contact them on her own.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91178113/apple-airtag-california-woman-package-thief?partner=rss&utm_source=rss&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss+fastcompany&utm_content=rss

Creată 9mo | 23 aug. 2024, 22:20:06


Autentifică-te pentru a adăuga comentarii

Alte posturi din acest grup

‘His views better have changed since 2012’: How a viral meme account beat the Vatican to the Pope Leo XIV news

White smoke poured from the Sistine Chapel chimney Thursday at 6:07 p.m. local time, signaling the end of the conclave and the election of a new pope to lead the Catholic Church. Cardinal Robert F

8 mai 2025, 23:30:07 | Fast company - tech
X blocks access to jailed Istanbul mayor’s account per Turkey’s request

The social media platform X said Thursday it has blocked access to ja

8 mai 2025, 18:50:08 | Fast company - tech
Coding emerges as generative AI’s breakout star

Welcome to AI DecodedFast Company’s weekly newsletter that breaks down the most important news in the world of AI. You can sign up to receive this newsletter every week 

8 mai 2025, 18:50:06 | Fast company - tech
Instacart CEO Fidji Simo is heading to OpenAI: Here’s what you need to know

The woman behind Instacart’s successful IPO, Fidji Simo, is joining OpenAI’s C-suite.

On Wednesda

8 mai 2025, 18:50:05 | Fast company - tech
Nintendo profits tanked 43% in Q1 but hopes to bounce back with the Switch 2 release

Japanese video-game maker Nintendo on Thursday reported a 43% decline in profit for the fiscal year through March, but promised a turnaro

8 mai 2025, 16:30:11 | Fast company - tech
Thanks to DOGE, Gumroad’s founder has a second job with the VA

Sahil Lavingia has had just three jobs over a 15-year career in tech.

The first was as the second employee of Pinterest. The second was by founding the startup

8 mai 2025, 11:50:06 | Fast company - tech
The real-life risks of predictive policing—and what one city is doing differently

The 2002 sci-fi thriller Minority Report depicts a dystopian future where a specialized police unit is tasked with arresting people

8 mai 2025, 11:50:04 | Fast company - tech