Iowa stalker arrested for hiding three AirTags in victim's vehicle

AppleInsider

An Iowa man has been arrested for AirTags stalking a person he mistakenly believed he was married to, in yet another case where Apple's tracker is used for criminal activity.

AirTag on a keyring.

Carl Steven Shawver of Bettendorf, Iowa, was arrested on Saturday and charged with stalking and the unauthorized use of GPS. The 63-year-old was caught multiple times misusing AirTags to track down a woman, in an unusual stalking instance.

On December 5, court documents state a person was alerted by their smartphone that their movements were being tracked, in what sounds like Apple's anti-stalking notification feature in action. An AirTag was discovered on the person's spare tire, which they took to West Des Moines Police.

Shawver visited the police station the next day to try and find the victim, reports Keloland.com. He claimed that the victim was married to him, and that he had placed the AirTag on the vehicle as he believed they were having an affair.

The claims of marriage were not true, as the two never had a relationship to begin with. The victim also reportedly blocked Shawver from calling or messaging them.

With the first AirTag in police custody, a second was discovered on December 7, after the victim received another notification that they were being tracked. This time, the AirTag was discovered in a wallet within a plastic sandwich bag, again on top of the spare tire.

A third was found not long after, yet again following the tracking notification. Using a mechanic shop lift to check under the vehicle, the AirTag was found wrapped in plastic an din a plastic case, attached to the subframe.

With all AirTags in evidence at the station, a police officer saw Shawver in his vehicle at the station's parking lot. Later, during a traffic stop by the officer, Shawver tried to claim he had agreed with the victim to meet at the station.

The man was taken to Polk County Jail on a $3,000 bond, with a preliminary hearing set for December 19.

The story is the latest to involve Apple's tracking device, which in early December became the target of a lawsuit. The legal complaint accuses Apple of producing an unsafe device due to the potential for it to be used for stalking, and claims Apple's safeguards are "inadequate."

Read on AppleInsider

danox

A phone, car, speech, pen and paper can be used to commit crime ban them? hold the people responsible and move on.  

slow n easy

The lawsuit makes no sense. Obviously the AirTag is a safe device because the victim was notified that “they” was being stalked and all devices were found. So what’s the problem. Also I’m really not trying to be mean but I like to have all of the information. Is the reason for using the pronouns they/them because the victim is non-binary? I have nothing against such a person. I was just wondering.

n2macs

Sounds like a relationship that didn’t workout. How did this guy get access to her car 3 different times? She had to have his number in order to block calls and messaging.

kdupuis77

I have a bunch or AirTags and find them quite useful for our vehicle keys, suitcases and my briefcase. You shouldn’t get rid of something just because a handful of bad actors use them for evil. It’s the same argument for firearms in my book. Guns don’t get up and shoot people any more than AirTags jump off the table and stalk women in their cars. Prosecute the offenders to the maximum extent of the law and allow the rest of us to go on with our lives enjoying our technology and toys. 

genovelle

slow n easy said:

The lawsuit makes no sense. Obviously the AirTag is a safe device because the victim was notified that “they” was being stalked and all devices were found. So what’s the problem. Also I’m really not trying to be mean but I like to have all of the informationkdupuis77 said:

I have a bunch or AirTags and find them quite useful for our vehicle keys, suitcases and my briefcase. You shouldn’t get rid of something just because a handful of bad actors use them for evil. It’s the same argument for firearms in my book. Guns don’t get up and shoot people any more than AirTags jump off the table and stalk women in their cars. Prosecute the offenders to the maximum extent of the law and allow the rest of us to go on with our lives enjoying our technology and toys. 

Guns are a bit different as some popular ones used in mass murders are weapons of was designed for only that purpose. 

Is the reason for using the pronouns they/them because the victim is non-binary? I have nothing against such a person. I was just wondering.

This could also be that the information released By the authorities did not specify gender, so they and them are the proper pronouns. 

ljbyrne

slow n easy said:

The lawsuit makes no sense. Obviously the AirTag is a safe device because the victim was notified that “they” was being stalked and all devices were found. So what’s the problem. Also I’m really not trying to be mean but I like to have all of the information. Is the reason for using the pronouns they/them because the victim is non-binary? I have nothing against such a person. I was just wondering.

The story above says a woman was being tracked in the second paragraph. 

slow n easy

ljbyrne said:

slow n easy said:

The lawsuit makes no sense. Obviously the AirTag is a safe device because the victim was notified that “they” was being stalked and all devices were found. So what’s the problem. Also I’m really not trying to be mean but I like to have all of the information. Is the reason for using the pronouns they/them because the victim is non-binary? I have nothing against such a person. I was just wondering.

The story above says a woman was being tracked in the second paragraph. 

I’m not trying to be mean to the AppleInsider staff, but if the victim is a woman, why use the pronouns they/them instead of she/her?

genovelle

slow n easy said:

ljbyrne said:

slow n easy said:

The lawsuit makes no sense. Obviously the AirTag is a safe device because the victim was notified that “they” was being stalked and all devices were found. So what’s the problem. Also I’m really not trying to be mean but I like to have all of the information. Is the reason for using the pronouns they/them because the victim is non-binary? I have nothing against such a person. I was just wondering.

The story above says a woman was being tracked in the second paragraph. 

I’m not trying to be mean to the AppleInsider staff, but if the victim is a woman, why use the pronouns they/them instead of she/her?

It may be because it doesn’t matter that much. It could also be that because all of this attention to such manufactured problems they decided to hedge their bets since there is no indication of this person clarified what pronoun they identify with. The fact that this is even a line of inquiry 🧐 is mind boggling to me. 

lkrupp

danox said:

A phone, car, speech, pen and paper can be used to commit crime ban them? hold the people responsible and move on.  

Okay, people, get a clue. Apple has the biggest pockets of them all. Apple has the biggest PR footprint of them all. Apple has the eyes and ears of the media 24/7/365. So stop the tirades about Tile and the cheap GPS trackers you can buy on Amazon. None of this matters. It’s Apple pure and simple so they take all the hits, lawsuits, and negative press.  No need for any other explanations. 

ronn

slow n easy said:

Is the reason for using the pronouns they/them because the victim is non-binary? I have nothing against such a person. I was just wondering.

The police may have used they/them to protect the identity of the victim. Who knows. Not sure why AppleInsider is identifying the victim as female without information that asserts that they are in the story they linked to to this post.