Toronto man finds and recovers stolen car with the help of Apple AirTags

Last Wednesday, Jordan Macdonald said his family was startled awake at 5 a.m.

That’s normal these days as the family has a newborn. But this time it wasn’t the sound of their baby crying that woke them. It was their car alarm.

“As soon as I heard that there was a car alarm, I knew what it probably was,” said Macdonald, shaking his head ruefully.

A neighbour’s security camera captured the moment when their family’s brand new 2023 Toyota Highlander was stolen from their driveway in under five minutes. Macdonald said the heist was pulled off, all while his car keys sat inside their home in their security box, which has a signal blocker.

“It definitely is a little bit disheartening to think that it’s just so easy for these thieves to steal your car these days without the key,” Macdonald said.

But what the thieves didn’t know was that five months ago, when Macdonald purchased his vehicle, he had hidden a tiny circular tracking device — an Apple AirTag — in his vehicle. The idea came when Macdonald bought the car.

“It was actually the guy who gave me the car at the dealership,” Macdonald said. “He said this car is a targeted vehicle right now.”

Macdonald said he tracked his vehicle on the move using his phone. The tags led him and police to a condo parking garage in the Lakeshore West and Humber Bay area where his car was parked. He said he’s not sure if police found those responsible for stealing his car, but police took his car in for fingerprinting.

“The window was broken out. They would’ve had to disable the GPS,” said Macdonald, referring to the damage his vehicle now has.

Macdonald’s Highlander now sits at the body shop, where mechanics say they’ve seen dozens more like his come in this month alone. In Toronto, data from the city’s police force shows stolen cars have nearly tripled since 2015 with more than 9,600 vehicle thefts in 2022. This year seems to be following that trend, with more than 5800 cases reported since Jan. 1.

Police say there are several ways to protect your vehicle against theft — the use of Apple AirTags being one of them.

“I would recommend (using) two of them,” said Const. Marco Ricciardi, crime prevention and community relations officer of TPS 22 division. “Put one where it can be easily found, and then put one somewhere else where it’s a lot harder to find — a trunk, somewhere where you’re not going to hear it beeping.”

Police also recommend that if you do choose to track your vehicle, do not go after it because the thieves may be armed. Instead, track from a distance and wait for police — like Macdonald did.

“Stay vigilant,” said Macdonald, who added that he regrettably feels like he let his guard down. “Buy a couple of AirTags and maybe you’ll get lucky and the thieves won’t find them.”