Restraining order and nine weeks in prison after he harassed his ex-girlfriend using the Apple device.
A 41-year-old man from the UK harassed his ex with constant calls and lots of questions. But later, in a fit of jealousy, decided to put an AirTag on the bumper of his ex-girlfriend’s car in order to know where he was and to be able to follow his movements. This was declared by the court.
Details from the UK Daily Mail
According to the newspaper, Swansea Crown Court heard how Christopher Trotman had been in a relationship with the victim for more than 10 years, but after discovering “controlling” behavior, they ended their relationship in August 2020.
The prosecutor in charge, Tom Scapens, pointed out that Trotman kept asking his ex-girlfriend about his whereabouts after the breakup, and who even came to offer him money to stop working in a pub, since, according to what he says: “he couldn’t stand him talking to other men”.
Alerts were ignored
After AirTags came out, we started seeing stories of stalkers, thieves, criminals being tracked with these devices, and even murderers!
But to avoid being a victim of malicious use of AirTags, Apple has taken care of integrating anti-harassment features. One of them was a automatic alert in case an unrecognized AirTag is traveling with the user. And another is the make a sound if they are separated from their owner for a considerable period – which we hope will be more powerful in the AirTag 2 -.
Later, Apple also created an Android application with which owners of mobiles with this operating system could manually search for AirTags.
The victim’s iPhone kept offering to connect to the AirTag, however, she didn’t know what it was, so requests ignored. Then Trotman would ask her about the parties he knew exactly where she was.
How did they catch it?
In some moment, Trotman’s ex-girlfriend’s daughter also got the AirTag notificationso he became suspicious and searched until he found the tracker located in the rear bumper of his mother’s car.
The police were subsequently notified, and although the Daily Mail post is not very clear as to how the proceedings were carried out, it is worth noting that agents used the same AirTag to locate Trotman
Authorities considered the subject’s history of serious violence and pre-trial detention was imposed on him. However, he had already spent more than nine weeks behind bars, so it was to be expected that he would be released after this one. But, he didn’t leave without first receiving a Restraining order where any type of contact with his ex-partner was prohibited.
Undoubtedly, the correct use of AirTags is very useful, however, the dark side of these devices is also quite obvious. We therefore hope that Apple further strengthens harassment prevention so that we can enjoy all its benefits and without being in danger.
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