A WOMAN has shared an urgent warning after she allegedly found a tracker tucked in her BAG after nipping to the shops.
She claims she found the AirTag while rummaging through her bag – and has now warned other women to be vigilant after realising someone may have been stalking her.
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AirTags were created to help Apple users locate items when attached to personal belongings.
However, some people have capitalized on its tracking capabilities to engage in unethical activities – including stalking.
The Apple devices are also very precise and have a good battery life, making them all the more worrying.
The woman took to social media after she found the circular gadget in her bag – asking her followers for help.
But when she realised what it was, she quickly got rid of the device and dumped it in a nearby park.
In the clip on TikTok, Molly32320 said: “Guys, what the f***. I’ve just come home, I was looking for my vape in my bag.
“What is it? What is it? It’s Apple, a little circle thing. I don’t get it, I’m creeped out.
“I’ve not put it there, I’ve not bought it. What the actual f***.
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“I’ve literally been to the shops and back, that’s was literally it. I don’t understand. Who the hell has put this here.”
After researching, she came back and added: “Apparently it’s a tracker.
“I don’t actually check my bag that often, now I’m thinking that this is the bag that I take to work, so they might know where my work is, if someone’s placed it there.
“It could be at my mum’s house, my nan’s house. I’m actually scared at this point, who the hell has put it there.
“Someone can know where I am right now. I didn’t even know these were a thing. I’m really scared now.”
After realising what the device is, the woman then told her followers that she soaked it in water before dumping it in the middle of a park.
In the third clip, the woman, believed to live in Manchester, added: “Whatever creep decided to put this AirTag in my bag, well you can go f*** yourself.
“I’ve gone and soaked it up in water for half an hour and now I’m going to go and put it in the grass over there.
“Girls, if this happens to you, just be careful.”
Floods of commenters warned the woman of the potentially dangerous device, with many telling her to go to the police.
One said: “Drop it off at a police station.”
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While another added: “Go to the police, Apple can track the phone it’s registered to.”
Greater Manchester Police were contacted for comment.
Women’s Aid’s Head of Communications Teresa Parker said in a statement: “This TikTok shows exactly how new technology can be used to control, stalk and monitor women’s lives.
“While this technology may not have been designed to do this, at Women’s Aid we know that many women find out that they are being tracked without their knowledge or consent, and abusers are endless creative in the ways they will do this.
“This can range from cameras in the home that can be watched remotely, to small tracking devices like these, and setting up phone location services to be able to see where someone is at all times.
“It is vital that tech companies work with violence against women organisations to help prevent the misuse of their technology.”
AirTags have caused major concern since launching last year, following a raft of creepy reports including car-owners being followed.
The gadget is supposed to make life easier for finding stuff like keys and even lost items.
People’s iPhones work as a massive network for Apple to help you locate and retrieve them.
But it has also been deemed the perfect tool for stalking.
Eva Galperin, a cybersecurity expert at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said: “Any item that works for the purpose of catching a thief in this manner is also a perfect tool for stalking.
“That is why Apple advertises them as tools for tracking lost items and not stolen ones.”
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