Sins & Survivors: A Las Vegas True Crime Podcast - Tagged & Tracked - The Dark Side of Digital Surveillance

Episode Date: November 7, 2023

AirTags and other tracking devices are designed to help users find lost items—but in the wrong hands, they can become tools for stalking and abuse. Shaun & John explore the dark side of tracking technology, including chilling real-life cases of AirTags being used for domestic violence, stalking, and even murder. Learn how these devices are misused, how to protect yourself, and what to do if you find an unknown tracker following you.We discuss the class-action lawsuit filed against Apple by 37 plaintiffs who claim harm due to AirTags. Through three chilling real-life incidents, we unveil how these devices have been exploited, including how an AirTag led to a murder in Indiana and the story of a teenage girl who fell prey to an acquaintance's stalking. Stay vigilant, stay safe, and stay tuned.Apple LawsuitSources: https://sinspod.co/episode103sourcesDomestic Violence Resourceshttp://sinspod.co/resourcesClick here to become a member of our Patreon!https://sinspod.co/patreonVisit and join our Patreon now and access our ad-free episodes and exclusive bonus content & schwag!Apple Podcast Subscriptionshttps://sinspod.co/appleWe're now offering premium membership benefits on Apple Podcast Subscriptions! On your mobile deviceLet us know what you think about the episodehttps://www.buzzsprout.com/twilio/text_messages/2248640/open_sms Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/sins-survivors-a-las-vegas-true-crime-podcast--6173686/support.

To listen ad-free, visit sinspod.co slash subscribe. Starting at $2.99 a month, you'll also get access to our exclusive bonus content episodes when you join through Patreon or Apple subscriptions. Thanks for supporting the show! Welcome back to Sins and Survivors, a Las Vegas true crime podcast with a focus on domestic violence in the Las Vegas area. I'm John, and with me as always is the one and only Sean. I am the only Sean in the room. Welcome back. Today's episode is going to be a bit different. We're calling them Tech Corner,

and they will be focused more on a particular area of technology that's related to either domestic violence or stalking or some other true crime. We will then discuss cases related to the technology. When Sean and I were researching today's topic, we found three cases we'd like to share. The first is a domestic violence homicide that happened in Indiana. The second is related to an adjacent technology being used by a teenager to stalk a crush he had, which ended in tragedy. Lastly, we have a wild case from Laughlin, Nevada that happened between two adult males that involved the police and a sting operation across two states. Our topic today is electronic trackers, specifically the Apple AirTag. The AirTag is presently the most popular and pervasive tracker in use, so it makes sense to focus on that one.

So, Sean, why don't you tell us a little bit about what you think of these things, being our resident DV expert? Well, as with any piece of technology, there's always the opportunity for misuse. AirTags, when being used for their intended purpose, can be put on a wallet or keys or luggage. That list is endless. If you lose that item, they allow you to find it using the Find My app on your iPhone. We have quite a few of them in the house right now on keys, wallets, and the Apple TV remote, which goes missing often. And we even have them on our dogs so that if they were to ever escape, we'd be more likely to be able to find them. In that way, these devices give me a nice peace of mind. It's not all great though. They can be a

little irritating at times. I'll occasionally notice they chirp and I'm not sure why. And if I'm out walking the dogs without you, I tend to get notices that an unknown AirTag is traveling with you, which of course is because the AirTags are registered to your Apple account. Generally though, they're great when they're used for their intended purpose. I would agree with all that. And I get how they can be annoying. If I'm traveling for work and suddenly you have 15 unknown trackers all over the place, it seems when a technology is created and becomes popular, it's immediately misused intentionally by people wishing others harm, so it's important to know about these technologies and remain vigilant. That goes

for social media and even cars being as connected as they are today. When they came out, I was excited. I'd previously been using another brand of tracker, which still exists, but is just much less popular than AirTags are. The old trackers were great, but they didn't have the power of iOS Find My behind them. So that means that as soon as you lose an AirTag, everyone with an iPhone or an Android device is now someone who can help you recover your wallet or your keys. We put AirTags pretty much everywhere. Like you said, I have one on my wallet, one on all the dog's collars, and even one on my mom's keys and purse, because she's always losing those items. That gives me excellent peace of mind, because I can see her purse, her keys, I can see they actually aren't lost, and I can help her locate them when I need to.

Another advantage of AirTags, remembering this isn't an advertisement for AirTags, but it could be if you're listening, Apple, is that not only can you locate AirTags locations on a map geographically, but you can also locate them when you're within Bluetooth range of them. Bluetooth range is about 30 feet, and when you're within range, it'll tell you about how far away they are and in what direction. So if I put the Apple TV remote in my pocket for some reason and it falls out of my pocket in the car, I can see it pointed to the garage and I know where to go look. That's convenient with a remote, but it's scary when you think about the idea of a stalker dropping an AirTag in a stranger's purse and then following her to a crowded bar or event. No matter how crowded the bar is, they can see how far away she is and he can just follow her right out of the bar. The last point brings us to an important question for Sean. What are the implications of this in a domestic violence scenario for someone who is possibly entering a shelter and needs to remain

hidden from their abuser for their safety, or often for their children's safety? I would expect that as part of safety planning, advocates will discuss technology tracking with survivors of domestic violence when entering a shelter or other safe new location. They'll advise them on things like turning off location tracking on the phone, and if necessary, educate them about the other means that someone could be tracked. Some programs offer to provide survivors with a new mobile phone because many times an abuser will shut off a victim's phone in an attempt to intimidate or isolate them from friends and family. If a victim has a separate phone and phone number the abuser isn't aware of, they are that much safer. So let's talk about the technology itself. AirTags came out first in April of 2021, and they sell for about $29 each, or you can get a four-pack for like $99.

You'll often see them on sale for $4 or $79, so they're pretty cheap to get some of these things. As we've said before, you're expected to use them to track your wallet, your keys, your backpacks, your luggage, remote controls, and other items like that. Many items even have AirTag holders now, like luggage and phone wallets. I actually have a magnetic phone wallet that has a dedicated AirTag base right in it. And they have little replaceable CR2032 watch batteries that last about a year, which is pretty remarkable. When the battery's almost dead, you get a notification about it so you can just change it. It uses Bluetooth and NFC, not GPS. NFC is near-field

communication, and it's the same technology that enables contactless payments with credit cards and other items. The NFC and Bluetooth allow you to precisely locate the AirTag when it's in range. When it's out of range and in range of someone else's phone, it uses their Bluetooth and NFC anonymously and relays that information to your phone. The way it works of someone else's phone, it uses their Bluetooth and NFC anonymously and relays that information to your phone. The way it works on someone else's phone is that if you lose your wallet in a bar with an AirTag in it, someone will get a notification that there's an unknown tracker nearby. If they look in the iOS Find My app, they can see information about it. It's also supposed to emit a chirping sound to let people know that it's there if that person happens to not be the owner. It will also inform you when the tracker started

traveling with you and show you a map of the locations you've been with the tracker. In reality though, it can take up to 24 hours to get that notification, so that's where the concerns and potential are for harm. There's a lot of time there for someone to track and find another person. Originally, when AirTags were released, there was immediately some concern about their potential use and misuse. I certainly had that thought when they were announced. We'll talk a little bit later about what you should do if you come across an AirTag and you think it might be someone trying to track you secretly. You might think smashing it or pulling out the battery is the way to go, but there are some reasons you might not want to do that.

You might not even be able to find the AirTag. You might just get a notification when you're in your car and not even hear the chirping. You might also wonder what happens if you have an Android phone instead of an iPhone, and that's a good question with a good answer, which I'll give you in a bit. For now, let's just say it's always important to update the software on your devices. The misuse of AirTags is a growing problem. Whenever there's an article written about AirTags and their misuse, you'll likely see some variation on the phrase. They've become the weapon of choice of stalkers because of their low price and small size,

allowing them to be hidden easily. We've read about cases of them being slipped into purses or even hidden in cars where the chirping can't be heard. One person we read about had to go to a mechanic to have them partially disassemble their car, searching for an air tag she was being warned about. With air tags, the stalking happens in real time, so as we said, it could easily reveal the location of a domestic violence shelter or some other place the victim might think they are safe. The National Network to End Domestic Violence and other technology experts have said that it doesn't seem like Apple consulted with anyone who had experience or knowledge of domestic violence

or stalking when they were developing the technology, and I agree with that. The Stalking Prevention and Awareness Resource Center, SPARC, has pointed out that the vast majority of victims are stalked by someone they know, not by a random stranger. And they are the most likely people to harm the victim. People often worry about the faceless stranger, but really, it's most likely going to be someone they know who perpetrates this. It might even be your intimate partner. Victims often live in a constant state of fear, not knowing what their abuser or stalker will do next and when, if, it will ever stop. A technology like this can amplify that. I read a story about an Irish actress who was living in Los Angeles and got a notification that an unknown tracker was traveling with her.

She actually ended up leaving the country and unfortunately hasn't returned because she was so afraid for her safety. You have to imagine that this isn't the press that Apple is after with this device, and they've worked with companies like Google and made great strides in making them safer. Apple has a list of steps that you can take to remain safe, and we've shared those in the show notes. The link is sinspod.co slash airtag safety. So if you have a moment, you should go and review those tips. Spark has some interesting articles on stalking more generally, also including what constitutes stalking, and most importantly, what you can do if you're being stalked, and we'll share that in the show notes as well.

You can follow them legally on Instagram. Their username is pretty clever. It's at follow us legally. I agree that Apple can't be happy about this press. There is a class action lawsuit making its way through the courts that was filed last year against Apple. 37 plaintiffs have filed over 150 police reports. That was as of April 2022. 19 of the police reports happened in Tulsa, Oklahoma alone. I'm not sure what's going on there. We have shared the link to the lawsuit documents in the show notes, and we'll

share a few examples of the plaintiff's stories here, but there is a very long list if you're curious. It also includes photos of the offending air tags and where they were hidden. One original plaintiff is a woman named Lauren Hughes from Texas. Her boyfriend hid an air tag in the wheel well of her vehicle where she couldn't hear the chirping sound. He was able to locate where she was staying in a hotel. He also located her new residence, which she wasn't planning to share with him. As we mentioned, the document is full of stories like this with air tags being hidden in the strangest places, like in the cutout sole of a shoe in one case. The complaint is a long list of incidents where this technology was used to terrorize and harm the plaintiffs. An amended complaint was filed in October 2023. We have to

see where the case goes, but the lawyers for the plaintiffs are asking for a trial by jury to set damages. When we know more, we'll be sure to provide an update. I know juries put a price on these things every day, but I'm not sure how they'll even start calculating that in this case. Another thing I wanted to talk about is the Find My app itself, which comes with every iPhone. The Find My app tracks not only AirTags, but also many Apple devices such as phones, headphones, and even wallets. I met up with someone recently and shared my location with them via my phone using the Find My app, and it's worth noting when you do that, the default duration is until the end of the day. That's very useful, obviously, if you're on a group trip to Disneyland or something.

You can share your location with the people in your group and the access ends at the end of the day. I recommend reviewing who has access to your location in the Find My app. And if you aren't sure, it's a good idea to reach out to people on your list and ask them if they are okay with being on your track list. If not, you should remove them. I actually reviewed my track list and found people from years ago that had shared their location with me, and I removed all their trackers. So I don't have them anymore. The difference, of course, with the Find My app, it's a situation where you have to opt in, right? Someone can't track you that way without your consent or having access to your phone and your authentication method. That's most often a

passcode or a fingerprint, facial recognition. It's a great idea to make as long of a passcode as you can and be cognizant of the people around you when you're typing it on your phone. The Find My app is more clearly a useful thing, while the AirTags have much more potential to be used in a sneaky way. Absolutely. It definitely concerned me when I saw that I was tracking people that I hadn't seen in 10 years, and it made me wonder if there was anyone out there that was still tracking me. Turns out there wasn't, but it's definitely worth checking that. So do you want to jump into the cases we've chosen for this week? Yes. Our first case happened in Indiana, which isn't something we'd normally cover on Sins and Survivors, but it's a very intense example of stalking leading to a homicide. So we decided

to include it here. The victim was a 26-year-old man named Andre Smith, and the perpetrator's name is Galen Morris, who was also 26 at the time of the crime. The two had been in a relationship at one point for a relatively short time, and at some point, Galen hit a tracker in Andre's car. On June 3rd, 2022, she used the air tag to locate him at a bar and followed him there. Galen entered the bar and confronted Andre and the woman he was with, and a physical fight broke out. According to court records, Galen swung an empty wine bottle at Andre in the bar, and they both left. Outside, Galen got in her car and intentionally drove her car into Andre, knocking him down and then backing up over him and then running over him a third time.

At that point, she left the car on top of him, exited her vehicle, and attempted to flee the scene. Police arrived by that time and Galen was arrested, but unfortunately, Andre died at the scene. After a three-day trial, she was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, a level two felony, on August 17, 2022, and she was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Andre left behind a three-year-old daughter and his mother. His mother gave an interview in which she said that Apple was profiting off of this device that essentially deprived her of her son and her granddaughter of her father. We hope the conviction of Morris brings Andre's family some degree of comfort and allows them to begin to heal from such a horrible tragedy. Do you want to tell us about the second case,

which took place here in Las Vegas? Sure. Our second case, as you mentioned, happened locally here in Las Vegas on November 19th, 2021. And the case involved juveniles, so we won't be sharing the victims' names. The victims in this case were spending time together in a local park. The perpetrator approached them, and according to the female victim, the 17-year-old perpetrator, whose name is Emilio Rocha, approached them and said to the male victim, who the fuck are you, and shot him in the chest. Emilio then looked at the female victim and told her, I will kill you too. Emilio didn't end up shooting her and he fled the scene. And luckily the boy that was shot survived the gunshot wound.

The girl actually knew Emilio and according to her, they had a flirtatious relationship, but they had never dated and they were only friends. The girl had, however, borrowed Emilio's AirPods. And this is how he was able to find them. Because just like AirTags, AirPods can be tracked. The girl had seen notifications about the AirPods, but dismissed them because she was fully aware that she was borrowing Emilio's AirPods. So she assumed it was nothing to be concerned with. In some ways, that's even sneakier than dropping an AirTag in a stranger's

purse. In this case, Amelia let her borrow the AirPods and knew they could be tracked, and also knew that she wouldn't be concerned with any tracker warnings she got because she knew she was borrowing the AirPods from him. There are quite a few pieces of newer Apple tech that can be tracked that way, including the new MagSafe wallet. Yes, and as I said, she just didn't think anything of the messages she was getting because she knew she'd borrow the AirPods. This doesn't mean that you should never borrow anything like this from friends, but it's important to be aware of what items can be easily tracked. Emilio was arrested a month later on December 2nd. And according to the arrest report,

Emilio had considered fleeing to California or Mexico to escape consequences. But in the end, he gave himself up and was asking about how he could post bail. He was charged as an adult, and he pleaded guilty to the charges of assault and battery with a deadly weapon on June 13th, 2023. And he's going to serve a sentence of four to ten years. This is obviously a tragedy all around. Up until this point, Emilio had been a model student and role model to those in his family. It's very fortunate that he didn't end up murdering either of them, and of course, we hope he can be rehabilitated. Our third case is another instance of stalking using air tag. We don't know the name of the

victim, only that he is an adult male, but the perpetrator's name is Christian Cabrera Gonzalez from Laughlin. The victim in this case had a restraining order filed against Gonzalez for a previous unrelated altercation. But on March 14th, 2022, he called the police informing them that he had found an air tag tracking device in his car. Knowing he had the restraining order, he thought calling the police was the right course of action, and it was. Police took the device and performed a bit of a sting operation. They drove toward Bullhead City and only five minutes later located Gonzalez's car and conducted a traffic stop. They found a firearm in the car,

and Gonzalez admitted that he had been taking photos of the victim's house and admitted to putting the tracker in his car. He also admitted that he intended to confront the victim that evening, and as a reminder, he was armed. You might think that the right course of action, as we mentioned earlier, is to simply destroy the device. But experts warn that if you do that, you might be destroying valuable evidence. So your best bet is to involve law enforcement if you think you're the victim of a technology stalking incident. It's hard to avoid thinking about the fact that he was armed and headed over to confront the victim. It seems like it might have ended very badly if that had been allowed to happen. Gonzalez was charged with three counts of felony aggravated harassment and one count of felony stalking, along with one misdemeanor for failing to follow a court order related to that restraining order.

There are so many examples of this technology misuse. The AirTags and AirPod tracking are only a couple of them. If you have technology-related questions, please email them to tech at sinsandsurvivors.com and we'll answer your questions in future episodes or maybe in bonus episodes. It's important to remember that if you're experiencing stalking, there are national and local resources out there that you can contact for assistance. We've provided a list of resources in the show notes that are always up and you can contact for assistance. We've provided a list of resources in the show notes that are always up, and you can always find them on our website at sinsandsurvivors.com. Lastly, if you encounter a situation like the man in Laughlin did, or if you use an air tag on your property and it gets stolen, please remember to exercise caution. There are recent cases where people have followed a piece of stolen property, like a phone, and they've ended up confronting the thief and getting hurt. It's

best to reach out to law enforcement in these cases. Always remember that things can be replaced, but people cannot. Thanks for listening, and remember, what happens here happens everywhere. Thanks for listening. Visit sinspod.co slash subscribe for exclusive bonus content and to listen ad-free. Remember to like and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Threads at Sins and Survivors. If you're enjoying the podcast, please leave us a review on your podcast platform of choice. You can contact us at questions at sinsandsurvivors.com. If you or someone you know is affected by domestic violence or needs support, please reach out to local resources or the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

A list of resources is available on our website, sinsandsurvivors.com. Sins and Survivors, a Las Vegas true crime podcast, is research written and produced by your hosts, Sean and John. The information shared in this podcast is accurate at the time of recording. If you have questions, concerns, or corrections, please email us. Links to source material for this episode can be found on our website, sinsandsurvivors.com. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the podcast creators, hosts, and their guests. All individuals are innocent until proven guilty. This content does not constitute legal advice. Listeners are encouraged to consult with legal professionals

for guidance.