Apple AirPods help police locate stolen Ferrari worth $575,000

AppleInsider

Police in Waterbury, Connecticut, were able to find a stolen Ferrari worth over half a million dollars, all thanks to a pair of Apple AirPods left behind by the vehicle's owner.

Police were able to find a stolen Ferrari thanks to the owner's AirPods, which were left in the car. Image Credit: Waterbury Police Department.

On September 16, the Waterbury Police Department (WPD) was notified about a stolen Ferrari 812 GTS, stolen from the city of Greenwich, Connecticut, and valued at approximately $575,000. The WPD's Auto Theft Task Force located the vehicle with the help of the owner's Apple AirPods, which were in the car when it was stolen.

Apple's $129 wireless earbuds support tracking through the Find My app, which is how police were able to locate the stolen Italian supercar. AirPods can broadcast their location to an iPhone whenever it is nearby.

As reported by WFSB, the stolen vehicle was found near a gas station on South Main Street in Waterbury, Connecticut. When police attempted to pull the vehicle over, the suspect escaped but left his iPhone in the stolen Ferrari.

Police were able to use the iPhone in the vehicle to identify the driver, Dion Schontten, aged 22, a repeat offender. On September 26, he was found driving a stolen Acura and was brought into police custody.

While stolen or lost property is typically found through the use of AirTags, it was two different Apple products that proved useful in this case -- a pair of AirPods and an iPhone. If the owner of the Ferrari hadn't forgotten their AirPods, and if the suspect hadn't left his iPhone behind, police may not have resolved the situation nearly as quickly.




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eriamjh

I just realized that if you want to track an iPhone owner and not have them notified, leave AirPods on them, around them, near them, etc. instead of AirTags.   

Plus, there are dumb@sses with cars worth half a million dollars who don’t have GPS trackers installed.  

ihatescreennames

eriamjh said:

I just realized that if you want to track an iPhone owner and not have them notified, leave AirPods on them, around them, near them, etc. instead of AirTags.   

Plus, there are dumb@sses with cars worth half a million dollars who don’t have GPS trackers installed.  

Not really. My wife leaves her work-assigned AirPods in my car occasionally and I get a notification that they have been following me around. That notification includes a map and a red line showing my route/s where the AirPods were with me. 

beowulfschmidt

eriamjh said:

I just realized that if you want to track an iPhone owner and not have them notified, leave AirPods on them, around them, near them, etc. instead of AirTags.   

Plus, there are dumb@sses with cars worth half a million dollars who don’t have GPS trackers installed.  

The fact that they paid half a million dollars for the car doesn't automatically imply that it's worth that much. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

mebbert

Ironically, my son’s first-gen AirPods Pro were stolen this week and we couldn’t track them. Seems like they only check in when opened? Next day, they were removed from his FindMy because you can’t lock them to your iCloud account. I don’t understand why Apple makes so many products secure, but can’t lock your AirPods. 

Anyway, glad they found their freaking Ferrari with their AirPods. 

iOS_Guy80

ihatescreennames said:

eriamjh said:

I just realized that if you want to track an iPhone owner and not have them notified, leave AirPods on them, around them, near them, etc. instead of AirTags.   

Plus, there are dumb@sses with cars worth half a million dollars who don’t have GPS trackers installed.  

Not really. My wife leaves her work-assigned AirPods in my car occasionally and I get a notification that they have been following me around. That notification includes a map and a red line showing my route/s where the AirPods were with me. 

So do AirPods have the same functionality as AirTags using Find My?

ralphie

beowulfschmidt said:

eriamjh said:

I just realized that if you want to track an iPhone owner and not have them notified, leave AirPods on them, around them, near them, etc. instead of AirTags.   

Plus, there are dumb@sses with cars worth half a million dollars who don’t have GPS trackers installed.  

The fact that they paid half a million dollars for the car doesn't automatically imply that it's worth that much. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

No where in the article or comments does it mention “paid” price. Now who’s implying…

ihatescreennames

iOS_Guy80 said:

ihatescreennames said:

eriamjh said:

I just realized that if you want to track an iPhone owner and not have them notified, leave AirPods on them, around them, near them, etc. instead of AirTags.   

Plus, there are dumb@sses with cars worth half a million dollars who don’t have GPS trackers installed.  

Not really. My wife leaves her work-assigned AirPods in my car occasionally and I get a notification that they have been following me around. That notification includes a map and a red line showing my route/s where the AirPods were with me. 

So do AirPods have the same functionality as AirTags using Find My?

Very similar. I can see their last known location, play a sound and use the “Find” feature that will direct me to them if my phone can get their signal,

eriamjh

ihatescreennames said:

eriamjh said:

I just realized that if you want to track an iPhone owner and not have them notified, leave AirPods on them, around them, near them, etc. instead of AirTags.   

Plus, there are dumb@sses with cars worth half a million dollars who don’t have GPS trackers installed.  

Not really. My wife leaves her work-assigned AirPods in my car occasionally and I get a notification that they have been following me around. That notification includes a map and a red line showing my route/s where the AirPods were with me. 

Thanks for the details.    But would anyone who sees this message assume that they’re being tracked?    You now, because they’re just AirPods.  

mpantone

beowulfschmidt said:

eriamjh said:

I just realized that if you want to track an iPhone owner and not have them notified, leave AirPods on them, around them, near them, etc. instead of AirTags.   

Plus, there are dumb@sses with cars worth half a million dollars who don’t have GPS trackers installed.  

The fact that they paid half a million dollars for the car doesn't automatically imply that it's worth that much. 

As mentioned earlier, the article says that this is what the car's value is.

For practical purposes, the current value (what it would cost to replace it) is what matters for legal reasons (like insurance claims). This is applicable for all vehicles whether it be a 20-year old Honda Civic or the latest and greatest sports car. What is printed on the invoice is not important for practical matters.

The purchase price mostly matters if there is some sort of profit made at the time of sale. That is not the situation here.

macgui

eriamjh said:

I just realized that if you want to track an iPhone owner and not have them notified, leave AirPods on them, around them, near them, etc. instead of AirTags.   

Plus, there are dumb@sses with cars worth half a million dollars who don’t have GPS trackers installed.  

And you know this how...

Of all your friends who have cars worth half a million dollars there are some that don't have GPS trackers installed? Maybe they have insurance. Not all cars worth/costing that much are irreplaceable.

chasm

Putting aside the fact that no car this side of a presidential limo or a museum piece should be worth a half-mil, this owner was a very lucky guy and really should have bought and secreted AirTags in a noisy part of the vehicle a while back.

As for this young offender, he obviously steals cars the way most of us drink water. The judge in the case would be doing the community a huge favor by giving him the max sentence for his multiple crimes.

macgui

beowulfschmidt said:

eriamjh said:

I just realized that if you want to track an iPhone owner and not have them notified, leave AirPods on them, around them, near them, etc. instead of AirTags.   

Plus, there are dumb@sses with cars worth half a million dollars who don’t have GPS trackers installed.  

The fact that they paid half a million dollars for the car doesn't automatically imply that it's worth that much.

As mentioned the article didn't say the owner paid that much, just that the car was valued for that amount. Anything is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. There's always some @sshole who wants to demean others because an item hold less or no value to them. Very small world view and says a lot about such hater. The value is often relative but is largely determined by market.

Most any safeguards can be defeated and the goal should be to make a car or domicile less attractive to steal or burglarize. My car costs a tiny fraction of that. It has a factory alarm and is parked in my garage but being the pragmatist I am I have insurance for replacement cost. As his car was recovered your post makes little sense other than to spotlight your insecurities. 

ihatescreennames

eriamjh said:

ihatescreennames said:

eriamjh said:

I just realized that if you want to track an iPhone owner and not have them notified, leave AirPods on them, around them, near them, etc. instead of AirTags.   

Plus, there are dumb@sses with cars worth half a million dollars who don’t have GPS trackers installed.  

Not really. My wife leaves her work-assigned AirPods in my car occasionally and I get a notification that they have been following me around. That notification includes a map and a red line showing my route/s where the AirPods were with me. 

Thanks for the details.    But would anyone who sees this message assume that they’re being tracked?    You now, because they’re just AirPods.  

it’s been a while since it has happened but I’m pretty sure the message that comes up says something to the effect of AirPods have been detected near you and the owner of them can track their location. It’s very similar if not the same as the warning that comes up with an unknown AirTag.

ETA: like this. (The forum isn’t letting me upload any images but this one show the warning about detected AirPods.  

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MSFigO043LE/maxresdefault.jpg