Guido shows where he hid an Apple AirTag in the scooter.
@dguido via Twitter
When Dan Guido’s electric scooter got stolen on the night of Aug. 2, he didn’t accept defeat. The Brooklyn cybersecurity CEO had hidden two Apple AirTags inside the black vehicle, concealed with black duct tape. He set out the next day to locate the scooter with help from the little Bluetooth trackers. Spoiler alert: He succeeded.
Guido works at New York City-based Trail of Bits, a cybersecurity research and consulting firm that serves clients in the defense, tech, finance and blockchain industries. He chronicled his hunt for the scooter in a series of tweets Monday, sharing both the challenges and successes of his wild journey.
“My scooter was stolen last week,” Guido tweeted. “Unknown to the thief, I hid two Airtags inside it. I was able to use the Apple Find My network and UWB direction finding to recover the scooter today.”
When Guido began his search the next day, he tried to enlist the New York City Police Department, but they weren’t willing to work with him if he entered stores or knocked on doors. “They weren’t familiar with Airtags, thought I might be enlisting them to steal something,” Guido tweeted. Neither Apple nor the New York City Police Department immediately responded to a request for comment.
I also had NYPD meet me at the nearest street corner but they were resistant to helping. They weren’t familiar with Airtags, thought I might be enlisting them to steal something, and refused to walk with me if I knocked on a door or into a store.
— Dan Guido (@dguido) August 10, 2021
Guido said he had to cut the time short to catch a flight to the Blackhat security conference in Las Vegas. In a tweet, Guido said he thought that would be the end of the road, assuming some noisy features on the AirTags would blow their cover.
Apple said in June that it had started sending out updates to its AirTags that cause them to make noise if separated from their owner at a random time inside a window lasting between 8 and 24 hours. They had previously sounded after three days.
With only 1hr to hunt, I couldn’t find its precise location and left thinking it was in these apartments. I boarded my flight to Blackhat, expecting I’d never see my scooter again. Why? Apple’s anti-stalking features. pic.twitter.com/TQ4ca24iXz
— Dan Guido (@dguido) August 10, 2021
Luckily, no one unearthed the tracking devices for the rest of the week, and Guido was able to resume the search again when he arrived home from the conference on Aug. 9.
He says he hit a wall with NYPD again, but after some convincing, two officers eventually agreed to accompany him to the scooter’s location.
I was patient, upbeat, and demonstrated with the Airtags on my keys. I reiterated I didn’t want them to do anything illegal to help me, made a joke about it only costing $800 so it’s no felony, and insisted it would get solved within an hour. It worked!
— Dan Guido (@dguido) August 10, 2021
Then, they spotted something promising: an e-bike store.
After venturing inside, Guido received a ping, alerting him the elusive scooter was nearby. Then, he was finally reunited with it.
Seconds later, I walked right into it. My scooter! The employees were in disbelief: How did I know it was mine? I played sounds from an Airtag. Not good enough. I paired to it with the Ninebot iOS app. This convinced the last holdouts. pic.twitter.com/dCW7YLEpkQ
— Dan Guido (@dguido) August 10, 2021
At the end of his thread, Guido left tips for AirTag users, so they too can be prepared in case someone decides to snatch their Bluetooth-equipped belongings.
Here are a few lessons learned if you’re using Airtags for theft recovery:
1) Use an Airtag adhesive that blends in and muffles noise. It’s clear my thief was looking for them.
2) Do not turn on Lost Mode. It immediately alerts the thief they’re being tracked.— Dan Guido (@dguido) August 10, 2021
3) Act quickly, before the anti-stalking feature kicks in. Damage done to my handlebars was likely in response to the regular noises from the Airtag.
4) Limit your in-person interactions and always involve the police. Don’t try to retrieve your stolen goods until you have backup.— Dan Guido (@dguido) August 10, 2021