California Man Uses AirTag and Dash Cam Footage to Recover Stolen BMW

A California man used an Apple AirTag and footage from his dashcam to recover his stolen BMW. Philip Obando awoke one fine morning to discover that his BMW had been stolen. Fortunately, Obando had hidden an Apple AirTag inside his car, just in case the car was “borrowed” without his permission.

Obando used the Find My app to track his vehicle as the thief drove through Long Beach. The crook made himself at home in the Beemer, sleeping in the car, swapping out the license plate, and at least showing a small amount of consideration by taking it through a car wash.

That’s when Obando and his wife decided to track and confront the thief, not taking to heart that law enforcement, Apple, and publications like iDrop News strongly recommend against personally tracking a stolen item without contacting police.

Obando told NBC News that he confronted the thief at a local gas station and proved that he owned the vehicle by using his spare key fob to honk the horn. At this point, the thief decided the jig was up and took off running.

While the outcome in this case was favorable, using a GPS tracking tag like an AirTag to follow and confront a thief can be dangerous for everyone involved. Unfortunately, police departments in the US have differing stances when it comes to tracking stolen vehicles using trackers. Washington, DC, and New York City police actively promote using AirTags and other GPS trackers as a deterrent to vehicle theft in their cities. Meanwhile, the San Antonio, Texas police caution against doing so.

While victims may be tempted to use an AirTag to track their vehicle and confront the thief, that can be dangerous. Instead, victims of vehicle thefts should report the crime to the police as soon as possible, said San Antonio Police Department spokesman Officer Ricardo Guzman.

If someone discovers their vehicle has been stolen and can track it with an AirTag, they should call the police immediately, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

There have been numerous AirTag users who have tracked their stolen items by using Apple’s tracking tag. 

A Canadian man’s BMW was recently recovered only a few hours after it was stolen, thanks to an Apple AirTag the man had secreted in the vehicle. Saamer Mansoor had hidden an AirTag in his automobile about six months before it was stolen. His brother had alerted him that the vehicle was missing, but Apple’s Find My app revealed it was parked at a motel. 

In a similar story, a Toronto man who had two Range Rovers stolen from his driveway in less than two months was able to recover the second one after he planted three AirTags inside it; the clever thieves searched the vehicle but found only one of the three.

While it’s true that Mansoor and the owner of the stolen Range Rover both headed to the locations shown in their Find My apps, they had the presence of mind to call the police en route. The vehicles and most of their belongings were recovered as a result.

Sadly, not all of these stories have a happy ending. Earlier this year, we shared the story of another Toronto man who wasn’t able to recover his vehicle despite having two AirTags hidden inside. Instead, he watched helplessly as his GMC Yukon XL traveled the world without him, eventually ending up in the Port of Montreal before resurfacing in Dubai.

Unfortunately, bad actors are also using Apple’s AirTag to track drivers and their vehicles. In December 2021, police in York Region (a suburb north of Toronto) reported that Canadian car theft rings were using AirTags to track and steal expensive cars and SUVs, then shipping the stolen vehicles around the world.

The method still seems to be widespread. After returning home, a Massachusetts man found that someone had hidden an AirTag in his car during a visit with family in Montreal and had secretly been tracking his (and his vehicle’s) movements.