Multiple incidents have led the police near Toronto to issue a warning about Apple AirTag being used to track and steal cars.

Since September 2021, officers have investigated five incidents where suspects have placed small tracking devices on high-end vehicles so they can later locate and steal them. Brand name ‘air tags’ are placed in out-of-sight areas of the target vehicles when they are parked in public places like malls or parking lots. Thieves then track the targeted vehicles to the victim’s residence, where they are stolen from the driveway.

They say the electronic key of cars are being bypassed by simply resetting to a new one.

Once inside, an electronic device, typically used by mechanics to reprogram the factory setting, is connected to the onboard diagnostics port below the dashboard and programs the vehicle to accept a key the thieves have brought with them. Once the new key is programmed, the vehicle will start and the thieves drive it away.

Police advise scanning regularly for the tiny devices, which can be hidden anywhere. They also recommend locking the “data port” to block reprogramming the key. And finally, they recommend keeping vehicles inside a locked container such as a garage.

Really, they should have said ride a bicycle: easy to notice anything added, no data port, easy to lock inside.