Stalkers manipulating bluetooth trackers raises concerns for safety

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - Bluetooth trackers are being used by predators to stalk victims, despite being designed to help locate lost items.

Compiled by the Clinic to End Tech Abuse at Cornell University, from the Box Elder Police Department, Bluetooth trackers are small devices that can send location information to the person who owns the device. These devices can be useful to help people find everyday objects that are lost, such as keys or wallets.

However, because they are small (often the size of a deck of playing cards or smaller), easy to hide, and give locations, these devices can be misused for stalking.

Examples of trackers include AirTags, Tile, and Chipolo devices.

Airguard is an app developed by researchers specifically designed for finding Bluetooth trackers. It scans for the most common brands of trackers. It scans for AirTags, Tiles, SmartTags, and Chipolo devices. AirGuard is available for both Android and iPhone.

Among other devices, predators use other security devices such as security cameras and doorbells.

If you find out that you are being watched or stalked always call the police first and you can try a few things to help learn more about the device. You can try downloading the app and attempt to register the device as if it’s new, or see if the app tells you anything, such as account recovery information.

You can also try calling customer support for the specific device and asking who it’s registered to.

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