Earlier this year, Apple launched its own GPS Tracker: the Apple AirTag. This GPS tracker allows you to track the location of your keychain, for example. But the small device's functions can also serve very different purposes, such as stalking. Apple has already taken steps to combat stalking, but unwilling individuals can still abuse such devices. The use of GPS trackers in stalking appears to be a growing problem.
The number of reports of stalking received by police has been on the rise in recent years. Especially in 2019 and 2020, the number of stalking crimes recorded is much higher than previous years. Moreover, an increasing proportion of stalking cases remain unsolved.
And although stalking was reported some 4,000 times in 2019, the number of victims is much higher. In fact, according to Slachtofferhulp Nederland, there were over 100,000 victims of stalking that year.
GPS trackers are also appearing more frequently in the news in coverage of stalking cases. Several regional media covered the subject because of a local stalker, including the Brabants Dagblad, Omroep Gld and the Leeuwarder Courant. A contestant on the program Temptation Island also appeared to use a GPS tracker to monitor her boyfriend's movements.
Stalkers are getting information in their laps with GPS trackers. It turns out that it is not only child's play to place such a small device somewhere (for example, under a car or in a child's teddy bear). Indeed, with the Apple AirTag, several videos are circulating on YouTube showing a hack to disable the security signal.
That beep goes off when it is away from the device it is paired with for an extended period of time. A safeguard that Apple turned on to precisely prevent stalking, among other things.
Since 2015, the number of lawsuits involving GPS trackers has been increasing sharply. Whereas in 2015 there were 2 lawsuits involving GPS trackers, by 2020 the number has risen to 29.
By no means always does a trial turn out to result in a conviction. In over a quarter of the cases a defendant is completely acquitted (28%) and in another nearly one in ten verdicts a defendant is partially acquitted of the offenses.
This was also the case in a trial of a Sittard jeweler. A GPS tracker had been placed under his car, but the suspects were acquitted in Appeals for tracking the jeweler's movements.
There are now three popular consumer GPS trackers on the market: the Tile, Apple AirTag and Samsung's SmartTag. However, these three do not (yet) all include a feature to unmask stalkers.
The SmartTag did not have such a feature when introduced, but now it does: a SmartTag can be found through another device. However, the person who is (possibly) being followed via a SmartTag must perform his or her own verification to find out about the SmartTag. Someone who suspects nothing will therefore not easily find out that he/she is being followed.
The makers of Tile say they are incorporating an anti-stalking feature into the device during 2022. This device currently can still collect location data undetected for 30 days from the person carrying a Tile.
While the AirTag is equipped with an anti-stalking feature, it appears to be easily circumvented. When the device is too long away from its owner, a warning sound goes off. However, the speaker from which this sound originates can be removed from the device by a malicious person, according to several YouTube videos.
In addition, the AirTag only goes off after three days if it has been away from its owner for all that time. Thus, a cohabiting partner can still often track his or her partner undetected.
By the way, it is not only the location of a GPS tracker that can be tracked, but much more information can be gathered with it. A YouTube account called AirtagAlex shows how much information can be obtained through an AirTag.
In a video where he sends an AirTag to the king, for example, he can find out what time staff are present at Noordeinde Palace and how much activity there is per day. This information has since been removed from the video in question.
Is someone close to you possibly being stalked? It can be difficult to assess how serious the stalking is and how dangerous the situation is. A victim of stalking may not overlook the seriousness, or may be afraid to ask for help. To help the victim, there are a number of things you can do:
In this way, you build a kind of log of when and how the stalker harasses your neighbor. You can also help write a cease and desist letter in an effort to stop the stalking. Cameras around the home can also be helpful in this regard.
Realize that the victim may not yet see herself as a victim, and may downplay the situation out of uncertainty. Take your loved one's concerns seriously and emphasize that what the stalker is doing is not normal.
Your loved one may not have a good idea of what can be found about them online. Do a sort of privacy check together by googling what information is easy to find. Can you make (some of) that information from the Internet no longer publicly available?
It is wise to adjust social media accounts to private mode and block the stalker. This way, the stalker can no longer view messages. By the way, the stalker can easily impersonate a stranger online, so don't just add strangers on social media channels either.
Does the stalking get very out of hand or create a dangerous situation? Then you can report it to the police. Always do this in consultation with the victim. Sometimes the victim has doubts or worries about the consequences of such a report, so it is good to discuss this in advance. Is the report not enough help? Then you can take steps toward criminal proceedings or apply for a restraining order.
Check out Victim Support's checklist for more tips and background information on helping with stalking (1).
To investigate how GPS trackers play a role in digital stalking, VPNGids.nl consulted several sources. Figures on stalking were obtained from CBS. In addition, all court cases were viewed on Rechtspraak.nl in which "GPS tracker," "GPS box," "location device," or "track&trace system" appeared as a term.
After this selection, we manually checked whether a case was related to the tracking of an individual, unrelated to, for example, a fixed GPS device in a truck or, for example, an ankle bracelet.
(1) https://www.slachtofferhulp.nl/voordehelpers/alle-checklists/checklist-stalking/
