Tagged & Tracked - The Dark Side of Digital Surveillance

(Trigger Warning)
The following episode discusses topics related to domestic violence, including detailed accounts and descriptions that some listeners might find distressing or triggering. Listener discretion is advised.

(John)

Welcome back to “Sins and Survivors: a Las Vegas True Crime Podcast” with a focus on domestic violence in the Las Vegas area I'm John and with me as always is the one and only Shaun.

(Shaun)

I am the only Shaun in the room 

(John)

Welcome back! Today's episode is going to be a bit different. We’re calling them “Tech Corner” and they will be focused more on a particular area of technology that is related to either stalking or domestic violence or perhaps some other true crime. We’ll then discuss cases related to that technology

When Shaun and I were researching today’s topic we found three cases we’d like to share. The first is a domestic violence homicide that happened in Indiana. The second is related to an adjacent technology being used by a teenager to stalk a crush he had, which ended in tragedy. Lastly, we have a wild case from Laughlin Nevada that happened between two adult males that involved the police and a sting operation across two states.

Our topic today is electronic trackers like the Apple Air Tag. The Air Tag is presently the most popular and pervasive tracker in use, so it makes sense to focus on that one. 

Shaun, why don't you tell us a little bit about what YOU think of these things, being our resident DV expert?

(Shaun)

Well, as with any piece of technology, there’s always the opportunity for misuse. Air Tags when being used for their intended purpose can be put on a wallet, keys, or luggage. The list is endless. If you lose that item, they allow you to find it using the “Find My” app on your iPhone. We have quite a few of them in the house right now on keys, wallets, and the Apple TV remote (which goes missing often) and we even have them on our dogs so that if they were to ever escape we’d be more likely to be able to find them. In that way, these devices give me a nice peace of mind.

It's not ALL great though. They can be a little irritating at times. I’ll occasionally notice they chirp and I'm not sure why, and if I'm out walking the dogs without you, I tend to get notices that “an unknown AirTag is traveling with you”, which of course is because the AirTags are registered to your Apple Account. Generally, though, they’re great when used for their intended purpose.

(John)

I would agree with all of that, and I get how they can be annoying if I’m traveling for work and suddenly you have 15 “unknown trackers” all over the place. It is an example of misuse, and unfortunately, it’s all too common. It seems when a technology is created and becomes popular, it is immediately misused intentionally by people wishing others harm, so it’s important to know about these technologies and remain vigilant.

That goes for social media, and even cars, being as connected as they are these days. When they came out, I was excited. I’d previously been using another brand of tracker (that still exists, but is just much less popular than AirTags). They were great, but they didn't have the power of the iOS “Find My” app behind them, which means that as soon as you lose an AirTag, everyone with an iPhone (or even an Android device now) is someone who can help you recover it.

We put AirTags everywhere, like you said. I have one on my wallet, on all of the dog’s collars, and even on my mom’s keys and purse because she is always losing those items because she has a deteriorating memory. That gives me excellent peace of mind because I can see that her purse or keys aren't lost, and I can help her locate them when I need to.

Another advantage of AirTags (remembering that this isn't an advertisement for AirTags, but it could be if you’re listening, apple!) is that not only can you locate AirTags locations on a map, geographically, but you can also locate them when you are within Bluetooth range of them. Bluetooth range is about 30 feet, and when you’re within range, it will tell you how far away they are, and in what direction. If I put the Apple TV remote in my pocket for some reason and it falls out in my car, I’ll see it pointing to the garage, I know where to go look. 

That is convenient with a remote, but it’s scary when you think about the idea of a stalker dropping an AirTag in a stranger’s purse and then following her to a crowded bar or event. No matter how crowded it is, he can see how far away she is, and he can follow her out of the bar.

That last point brings us to an important question for Shaun. What are the implications of this in a Domestic Violence scenario for someone possibly entering a shelter and needing to remain hidden from their abuser for their safety, and often for their children’s safety?

(Shaun)

I would expect that as a part of safety planning, advocates will discuss technology tracking with survivors of domestic violence entering a shelter. They’ll advise them on things like turning off location tracking on the phone and if necessary, educate them about the other means of being tracked. Some programs offer to provide survivors with a new mobile phone because many times, an abuse will shut off a victim’s phone in an attempt to intimidate and isolate them from friends and family. If a victim has a separate phone and phone number the abuser isn't aware of, they are that much safer.

(John)

Let's talk about the tech itself next. AirTags first came out in April of 2021 and they sell for about $29 each or you can get a 4-pack for $99, but you'll often see them on sale for 4 for $79. Live we said before, you’re expected to use them to track wallets, keys, backpacks, luggage, remote controls, and other items like that. Many items even have AirTag holders now, like luggage and phone wallets (I have a magnetic phone like that). They have a little replaceable CR2032 watch battery that lasts a year which is pretty remarkable. When the battery is almost dead, you'll get a notification about it so you can change it. It uses Bluetooth and the NFC, not GPS.

NFC is Near Field Communication, and it’s the same technology that enables contactless payments via credit cards and other items. The NFC and Bluetooth allow you to precisely locate the AirTag when it's in range. When it's out of range, and in range of someone else’s iPhone, it uses their Bluetooth and NFC anonymously and relays the location to your phone.

The way it works on someone else's phone is that if you lose your wallet in a bad with an AirTag in it, someone will get a notification that there’s an unknown tracker nearby. If they look in the iOS Fine My app, they can see information about it. It’s also supposed to emit a chirping sound to let people know that it’s there if that person happens to not be the owner. It will also inform you when the tracker started traveling with you, and show a map of the locations you’ve been with the tracker. 

In reality, though it can take up to 24 hours to get that notification, so that’s where the concerns and the potential for harm come in. That’s a lot of time for someone to track and find another person.

Originally when AirTags were released there was immediately some concern about their potential use and misuse. I certainly had that thought when they were announced. We’ll talk a bit later about what you should do if you come across an AirTag and you think it might be someone trying to track you secretly. You might think that smashing it or pulling out the battery is the way to go, but there are some reasons you might not want to do that. You might not even be able to find the AirTag. You might just get a notification when you’re in your car, and not hear the chirping.

You might also wonder what happens if you have an Android phone instead of an iPhone, and that’s a good question, with a good answer which I’ll give you in a bit. For now, lets just say that as always its important to update the software on your devices.

but there's also questions about what happens if you have an Android phone instead of an iPhone, as I'll you gotta update your software, make sure you have the most recent version of your software, and I'll do a little spoiler on my own stuff later. But if you have an Android phone recently, as of the most recent updates to Android, Android 14 I think it is, there's native functionality inside Android to always be looking for unknown trackers, specifically air tags, so you should get the same notifications that you do on the iPhone. But remember, these things came out in 2021 and it's now 2023, so the functionality to track these things on Android reliably just came out this year, so there's been a lot of time for misuse. 

The misuse of AirTags is a growing problem. Whenever there’s an article written about AirTags and their misuse you'll likely see some variation on the phrase “they’ve become the weapon of choice of stalkers because of their low price and small size allowing them to be hidden easily.”

We’ve read about cases of them being slipped into purses, or even hidden in cars where the chipping can't be heard. One person we read about had to go to a mechanic to have them partially disassemble their car searching for an AirTag she was being warned about.

With AirTags the stalking happens in real-time so as we said it could easily reveal the location of a Domestic Violence shelter or some other place a victim might think they are safe. The National Network to End Domestic Violence and other technology experts have said that it doesn't seem like Apple consulted with anyone who had experience or knowledge of domestic violence or stalking when they were developing the technology, and I agree with that.

The Stalking Prevention and Awareness Resource Center (SPARC) has pointed out that the vast majority of victims are stalked by someone they know, not by a random stranger, and they are the most likely people to harm the victim. People often worry about the faceless stranger but really, it's most likely going to be someone they know that perpetrates this. It might even be your intimate partner. Victims often live in a constant state of fear, not knowing what their abuser or stalker will do next, and when, if ever it will stop. A technology like this can amplify that.

I read a story about an Irish Actress who was living in Los Angeles and got a notification that an unknown tracker was traveling with her. She ended up leaving the country and unfortunately hasn't returned because she was so afraid for her safety.

You have to imagine that this isn't the press that Apple is after with this device, and they have worked with companies like Google and made strides in making them safer. Apple has a list of steps you can take to remain safe and we’ve shared it in the show notes. The link is sinspod.co/airtagsafety so if you have a moment go and review those tips.

SPARC has some interesting articles on stalking more generally also including what constitutes stalking, and most importantly what you can do if you’re being stalked and we’ll share that in the show notes. You can follow them (legally) on Instagram. Their username is pretty clever. It’s @FollowUsLegally

I agree that Apple can't be happy about this press. There is a class action lawsuit making its way through the courts that was filed last year against Apple. 37 plaintiffs have filed over 150 police reports. That was as of April 2022. 19 of the police reports happened in Tulsa Oklahoma alone. Not sure what's going on there. We have shared the link to the lawsuit documents in the show notes, and we’ll share a few examples of the plaintiff’s stories here, but there is a very long list if you’re curious. It also includes photos of the offending AirTags and where they were hidden.

One original plaintiff is a woman named Lauren Hughes, from Texas. Her boyfriend hid an AirTag in the wheel well of her vehicle where she couldn't hear the chipping sound. He was able to locate where she was staying in a hotel, and he also located her new residence which she wasn't planning to share with him.

As we mentioned the document is full of stories like this with AirTags being hidden in the strangest places like in the cut-out sole of a shoe, in one case. The complaint is a long list of incidents where this technology was used to terrorize and harm the plaintiffs. An amended complaint was filed in October of 2023. We have to see where the case goes, but the lawyers for the plaintiffs are asking for a trial by jury to set damages. When we know more we’ll be sure to provide an update.

I know juries put a price on things every day, but i'm not sure how they will even start calculating that in this case.

Another thing I wanted to talk about is the “Find My” app itself which comes with every iPhone. The “Find My” app tracks not only AirTags but also many Apple devices such as phones, headphones, and even wallets. I met up with someone recently and shared my location with them via my phone in the “find my” app. It's worth noting when you do that, the default duration is “until the end of the day”. The usefulness of this is clear if you’re on a group trip to Disneyland or something, you can share your location with everyone, and the access ends at the end of the day. I recommend reviewing who has access to your location in the “Find My” app. If you arent sure, Its a good idea to reach out to the people on your list and ask them if they are okay with being on your track list. If not, remove them.

The difference of course is that with the “Find My” app, it’s a situation where you have opted in. Someone can’t track you that way without your consent or having access to your phone and your authentication method. That's most often a passcode, a fingerprint, or facial recognition. It’s a great idea to make as long of a passcode as you can and be cognizant of people around you when you’re typing it on your phone. The Find My app is more clearly a useful thing, while the AirTags have much more potential to be used in a sneaky way.

Absolutely. That's a great point. Do you want to jump into the cases we’ve chosen for this week?

Yes! Our first case happened in Indiana which isn’t something we’d normally cover, but it's a very intense example of stalking leading to a homicide so we decided to include it here. The victim iwass a 26-year-old man named Andre Smith, and the perpetrator’s name is Galen Morris, who was also 26 at the time of the crime.

The two had been in a relationship at one point for a relatively short time, and at some point, Galen hit a tracker in Andre’s car. On June 3rd, 2022, she used the AirTag to locate him at a bar and followed him there. Galen entered the bar and confronted Andre and the woman he was with and a physical fight broke out. According to court records, Galen swung an empty wine bottle at Andre in the bad, and they both left the bar. 

Outside, Galen got in her car, and intentionally drove her car into Andre, knocking him down, and then backing up over him, and then running over him a third time. At that point, they left the car on top of him exited her vehicle, and attempted to flee the scene.

Police had arrived by that time, and Galen was arrested, but unfortunately, Andre died at the scene After a three-day trial she was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, a level 2 felony on August 17th, 2022, and she was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Andre left behind a 3-year-old daughter and his mother. His mother gave an interview in which she said that Apple was profiting off of this device that essentially deprived her of her son and her granddaughter of her father.

We hope the conviction of Morris brings Andre’s family some degree of comfort and allows them to begin to heal from such a horrible tragedy.

Do you want to tell us about the second case, which took place here in Las Vegas?

Sure. our second case, as you mentioned happened locally here in Las Vegas on November 19th, 2021, and the case involved juveniles so we won't be sharing the victim’s names. The victims in this case were spending time together in a local park. the perpetrator approached them, and according to the female victim, the 17-year-old perpetrator whose name is Emelio Roca approached them and said to the male victim “Who the fuck are you”, and shot him in the chest. Emelio then looked at the female victim and told her “I will kill you, too”.

Emelio didn't end up shooting her and fled the scene and luckily the boy survived the gunshot wound. The girl knew Emelio, and according to her they had a “flirtatious relationship” but they had never dated, they were only friends. The girl had, however, borrowed Emilio's AirPods, and this is how he was able to find them because just like AirTags, AirPods can be tracked. The girl had seen notifications about the AirPods but dismissed them because she was fully aware she had Emilio’s AirPods. She assumed it was nothing to be concerned with.

In some ways, this is even sneakier than someone dropping an AirTag in a stranger’s purse. In this case, Emilio let her borrow the AirPods and knew they could be tracked, and also knew that she wouldn't be concerned with any tracker warnings she got because of that. There are quite a few pieces of newer Apple tech that can be tracked that way including the Magsafe wallet.

Yes and as I said, she just didn't think anything of the messages because she knew she’d borrowed the AirPods. This doesn’t mean you should never borrow anything like this from friends, but it’ important to be aware of what items can be easily tracked.

Emilio was arrested a month later on December 22nd According to the arrest report, Emilio had considered fleeing to California or Mexico to escape consequences, but in the end, he gave himself up, and was asking about how he could post bail. He was charged as an adult.

Emilio pleaded guilty to charges of assault and battery with a deadly weapon on June 13th, 2023, and he’s going to serve a sentence of 4 to 10 years.

This is a tragedy all around. Up until this point, Emilio was a model student and role model to those in his family. It's very fortunate he didn’t end up murdering either of them, and of course we hope he can be rehabilitated

Our third case is another instance of staling using an AirTag. We dont know the name of the victim, only that he is an adult male, but the perpetrator’s name is Christian Cabrera Gonzalez from Laughlin.

The victim in this case had a restraining order filed against Gonzales for a previous unrelated altercation, but on March 14th, 2022, he called the police informing them that he had found an AirTag tracking device in his car. Knowing he had the restraining order, he thought calling the police was the right course of action, and it was.

Police took the device and performed a bit of a sting operation. They drove toward Bullhead City and only 5 minutes later located Gonzales' car and conducted a traffic stop. They found a firearm in the car, and Gonzales admitted that he had been taking photos of the victim’s house and admitted to putting the tracker in the car. He also admitted that he intended to confront the victim that evening, and as a reminder, he was armed. 

You might think that the right course of action as we mentioned earlier is to simply destroy the device, but experts warn that if you do that you might be destroying valuable evidence, so your best bet is to involve law enforcement if you think you’re the victim of a technology stalking incident.

It's hard to avoid thinking about the fact that he was armed and headed over to confront the victim. It seems like it would have ended very badly if that had been allowed to happen. Gonzalez was charged with three counts of felony aggravated harassment and one count of felony stalking, along with one misdemeanor for failing to follow a court order (that’s related to the restraining order)

There are so many examples of this type of technology misuse, the AirTags and AirPod tracking are only a couple of them. If you have technology-related questions please email them to tech@sinsandsurvivors.com and we’ll answer your questions in future episodes.. Or maybe in bonus episodes!

It's important to remember that if you are experiencing stalking there are national and local resources out there that you can contact for assistance. We’ve provided a list of resources in the show notes and you can always find them on our website, www.sinsandsurvivors.com.

Lastly, if you encounter a situation like the man in Laughlin did, or even if you use an AirTag on your property and it gets stolen, please remember to exercise caution. There are recent cases where people have followed a piece of stolen property like a phone and ended up being hurt by the thief. It’s best to reach out to law enforcement in these cases and always remember that things can be replaced, but people cannot.

Thanks for listening and remember, what happens here, happens everywhere.