I was unpacking my suitcase on holiday when I made a chilling discovery – I was so scared I had to fly home early
UNPACKING her suitcase ready for her girls’ holiday in Lanzarote, Sarah Burton was excited to hit the pool when she suddenly felt her phone buzz.
To her surprise, it was a notification telling her there was an AirTag nearby.
At first Sarah, from Fulham, south west London, presumed the coin-sized accessory, which emits a Bluetooth signal, was hers as she uses them to track her two dogs.
But she quickly realised it was an unknown device.
Sarah, 40, who works in computer coding and cyber security, searched her hotel room looking for the tag, wondering if the guests before her had left one behind by mistake.
When her search proved fruitless she looked in her own luggage – and got a nasty shock when she checked her cabin bag.
“To my horror I found a cheap version of an Apple AirTag that wasn’t mine,” she tells The Sun. “A chill went through me when I found the innocent-looking black case containing the device.
“I had a sick feeling in my stomach. I’d read about AirTag stalking but thought it would never happen to me because I work in cyber security.”
Domestic violence charity Refuge has reported cases of this high-tech method of stalking – using Bluetooth-connected gadgets which can sell for as little as a fiver to track a person’s movements – have increased by 250 per cent year on year.
In March, former Love Island star Montana Brown, 27, found an AirTag which was tracking her location in her hand luggage when she landed in Los Angeles on her way to an awards show.
She posted about the incident on social media, admitting she was “really surprised” and hadn’t heard of it happening to people, but the “sheer amount of comments and messages” she received afterwards made her realise “this is clearly something that happens quite often”.
When she got on the plane Sarah put her cabin bag, which was brand new and carefully packed, in the overhead locker and “didn’t touch it during the flight”.
“Someone had obviously put the tag into my bag during the flight or when I was on the bus to the hotel,” she says.
“During the flight people were up and down constantly getting items from the overhead luggage compartments, and on the bus to the hotel I put my bag in the luggage holder while I checked my emails.
“My skin started feeling prickly. I wanted to throw up. I was so gripped by panic.”
I had a sick feeling in my stomach. I’d read about AirTag stalking but thought it would never happen to me because I work in cyber security
Sarah Burton
Sarah, who had arrived at the resort two days before her friends, immediately removed the battery from the device and went down to reception.
She says: “I asked to be moved to another section of the hotel.
“I explained what had happened and asked for another room and for them to register me under a different name.
“I was so scared I was about to book a flight home until my friends who were arriving within 48 hours told me not to.
“I thought of fleeing back to Britain because I didn’t know who had placed the tracking device in my bag or why. But my friends told me I would be letting them win if I left.
“For the rest of the trip I was so anxious and constantly looking over my shoulder.”
Even after her friends arrived Sarah struggled to relax and she ended up flying home early, cutting her two-week trip short by five days.
“I didn’t want to go anywhere alone, and I was too scared to drink on nights out,” she says.
“That’s the impact of AirTag stalking. You feel completely vulnerable. I know how Montana Brown feels, it’s horrible.”
Sarah says she still has nightmares about the incident a year on, often waking up in a cold sweat.
Due to her job she admits she never thought she’d be a victim of smart tech abuse.
I was so scared I was about to book a flight home until my friends who were arriving within 48 hours told me not to… For the rest of the trip I was so anxious and constantly looking over my shoulder
Sarah Burton
She explains: “I’ve read about AirTag stalking, and to know women and men like me on an innocent holiday could be targeted by criminals, abusers or predators using these tiny devices shocks me.
“My experience shows how easy it is to stuff a tiny AirTag into someone’s bag.
“It’s why I am speaking out and warning people preparing for their summer holidays to be extra vigilant – especially if you’re going solo.
“Even at home, if you’re on a night out or on the bus home from work, anyone could slip one in your bag or pocket.
“Stalking isn’t someone standing in the window. Worryingly this form of cyber-stalking gives predators so much more information than ever before.
“It tells them where you are and they can track your every movement. Don’t assume it won’t happen to you.”
Since AirTags launched there have been reports of people using them to track ex-partners.
TikTok has been flooded with reports of women finding the gadgets hidden in cars, handbags and coat pockets.
Apple has said it’s responded to concerns about AirTag stalking by rolling out numerous updates to combat it, including privacy warnings.
In February 2022 it issued a statement condemning “in the strongest possible terms any malicious use”.
The company explained it did consider unwanted tracking when designing the product and rolled out a proactive alert system, which is the feature that notified Sarah of the unidentified device.
The changes also allows people to sound an alarm on a stray AirTag to detect it.
Apple and Google say they are jointly working on an industry standard to better control use of the devices
While most incidents of AirTag stalking have been reported in America, there is concern it’s becoming more prevalent in the UK and Europe.
The charity The Suzy Lamplugh Trust said it has seen a rise in the use of Apple AirTags as a tracking device over the past few months, which is “of huge concern” – and they “expect the numbers to continue to rise”.