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Florida man accused of placing tracking devices on people’s cars
Tampa Bay Times ^ | 1/12/2025 | David Goodhue

Posted on 01/12/2025 6:34:32 PM PST by simpson96

A Key West man is accused of placing Apple AirTags on two peoples’ cars to illegally track them, according to police.

Key West detectives’ investigation dates to Nov. 8, when two people went to police after receiving cellphone notifications alerting them that an unrecognized AirTag was detected near them and tracking their location, said Alyson Crean, a spokesperson for the police department.

Apple introduced the AirTag in 2021 to help people track their belongings. But criminals soon began using the small devices to illegally stalk victims. Since then, Apple updated its security measures so a person’s iPhone would alert them if an unknown AirTag was tracking them.

That’s what happened when two people were leaving the Overseas Market on North Roosevelt Boulevard in Key West in early November, Crean said. One of them had utilized the “play sounds” feature on her phone and began hearing a beeping sound that grew louder as she neared the rear passenger side of her car, Crean said.

When she crawled underneath the vehicle, she found a magnetic device wrapped in black duct tape that contained an AirTag attached to the wheel well, Crean said.

Police found a similarly attached AirTag located on the spare tire underneath the vehicle of the second person, said Crean. Both devices were deactivated by the time the people arrived at the police station, Crean said.

Working with agents from the Department of Homeland Security, detectives connected the devices’ subscriber information to 52-year-old Mariusz Swiecicki of Key West, Crean said.

On Friday, detectives went to his house and interviewed him. They “allowed him to review the overwhelming amount of evidence collected against him during their investigation,” Crean said.

Swiecicki confessed to placing the AirTags on both cars and was arrested on two counts of installation or use of tracking devices, which are third-degree felonies, Crean said. If convicted, Swieckicki could face up to 15 years in prison.

Swieckicki was released from jail on a $70,000 bond Saturday, according to Monroe County Sheriff’s Office records. He could not be reached for comment, and information on his legal representation was not immediately available.

Crean said detectives are continuing their investigation to determine a motive and if there are more victims.


TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: 202411; airtags; appleairtags; cartracking; keywest; mariuszswiecicki; swiecicki; tracking; trackingdevices
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If one does not have an iPhone, there'd be no way of knowing if someone attached one of these to your car, correct?
1 posted on 01/12/2025 6:34:32 PM PST by simpson96
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To: simpson96

Correct.


2 posted on 01/12/2025 6:36:22 PM PST by Ciaphas Cain (A perfect storm. There will be no escape from what is coming.)
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To: simpson96

Right. And android has them too.


3 posted on 01/12/2025 6:36:47 PM PST by Chickensoup
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To: simpson96

My son manages a tire store in town. A few months back, a police officer arrived in his cruiser with a woman in her car. She thought she was being tracked. They put the car on the lift to examine it and found an AirTag encased in sprayable foam insulation on the underside of the car!

The woman was right. I don’t know how she suspected somebody was tracking her, but that was sure a rotten, sneaky thing to do slapping that tag on her car. The perp clearly knew how to do it to weather-protect the tag and came prepared with the right materials.


4 posted on 01/12/2025 6:39:25 PM PST by ProtectOurFreedom (They were the FA-est of times, they were the FO-est of times.)
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To: simpson96

This dude may have a defense... After all... Isn’t ON-Star tracking millions of cars? Why can they do it while nobody else can?


5 posted on 01/12/2025 6:53:04 PM PST by jerod (Nazis were essentially Socialist in Hugo Boss uniforms... Get over it!)
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To: Ciaphas Cain

Wrong. Android phones can show unauthorized AirTags.


6 posted on 01/12/2025 6:59:26 PM PST by Codeflier (Don't worry....be happy)
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To: Codeflier

How does it do that? Does it send an alert to your phone too?


7 posted on 01/12/2025 7:07:52 PM PST by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the Days of Lot; They did Eat, They Drank, They Bought, They Sold ......)
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To: Codeflier
Wrong. Android phones can show unauthorized AirTags.

Bluetooth is Bluetooth.

8 posted on 01/12/2025 7:09:03 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum (The worst thingy isabout censorship is █████ ██ ████ ████ ████ █ ███████ ████. FJB.)
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To: simpson96

Things are pretty dam bad when private citizens are able be as criminal as the government !


9 posted on 01/12/2025 7:13:58 PM PST by A strike (death to taggers)
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To: simpson96

I think Android can also detect them, not sure though.


10 posted on 01/12/2025 7:21:12 PM PST by Bikkuri (I am proud to be a PureBlood.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Needed to wrap the car in a Faraday bag..


11 posted on 01/12/2025 7:21:59 PM PST by Bikkuri (I am proud to be a PureBlood.)
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To: A strike

Yes


12 posted on 01/12/2025 7:26:51 PM PST by PGalt (Past Peak Civilization?)
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To: simpson96

This sounds like a missed opportunity to feed someone the wrong information.


13 posted on 01/12/2025 7:32:12 PM PST by T.B. Yoits
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To: jerod

I don’t have ‘onstar’ but isn’t onstar by subscription and consent??


14 posted on 01/12/2025 7:37:48 PM PST by posterchild
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To: ProtectOurFreedom
From Apple's site https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2022/02/an-update-on-airtag-and-unwanted-tracking/

Every AirTag has a unique serial number, and paired AirTags are associated with an Apple ID. Apple can provide the paired account details in response to a subpoena or valid request from law enforcement. We have successfully partnered with them on cases where information we provided has been used to trace an AirTag back to the perpetrator, who was then apprehended and charged.
So if you want to track someone, maybe go with some offbrand Chinese equipment rather than something that can be easily traced back to you.
15 posted on 01/12/2025 7:41:05 PM PST by KarlInOhio (Now unburdened by the Biden/Harris administration that has been.)
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To: KarlInOhio

We’re gonna have burner tags soon I imagine if not already.


16 posted on 01/12/2025 7:48:32 PM PST by xp38
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To: posterchild
Some of OnStar's features were by subscription, some were always on - collision sensors, airbag deployment - some of that data was beamed to GM via the nearest cellphone tower, subscribed or not.

These days, the catch-all word is "telematics". Lots of newer vehicles have this capability (it may indeed by mandated by fedgov by now).

17 posted on 01/12/2025 8:03:11 PM PST by Charles Martel (Progressives are the crab grass in the lawn of life.)
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To: posterchild
I don’t have ‘onstar’ but isn’t onstar by subscription and consent?

Consent? Not according to lawsuits.

https://www.carscoops.com/2024/05/gms-onstar-accused-of-spying-on-drivers-selling-data-to-insurers/

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2024/05/gm-ditches-onstar-smart-driver-feature/

From the article: "However, a furor erupted when GM vehicle owners noticed their insurance premiums were hiked by their insurers after they enrolled in Smart Driver. It soon emerged that The General was sharing detailed, personally identifiable driving data with information brokers such as LexisNexis Risk Solutions and Verisk, which then sold the info to insurance companies. Consent to the practice was hazy at best, with the possibility of having one’s data shared alleged to be buried in fine print. Some drivers reported that the OnStar Smart Driver feature reported their information even after they declined to be enrolled in it, whether because they felt it was unnecessary or because they had privacy concerns."

18 posted on 01/12/2025 8:06:11 PM PST by T.B. Yoits
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To: KarlInOhio
So if you want to track someone, maybe go with some offbrand Chinese equipment rather than something that can be easily traced back to you.

I know someone whose '60s classic car was stolen a few weeks ago. It was recovered by use of tracking tags - the owner hid both an Apple AirTag and some no-name Android compatible tracker. The thieves found the AirTag and removed it, but the other tag succeeded.

19 posted on 01/12/2025 8:08:48 PM PST by Charles Martel (Progressives are the crab grass in the lawn of life.)
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To: simpson96

My daughter’s psycho-ex boyfriend did this to her.


20 posted on 01/12/2025 9:50:32 PM PST by roving (Deplorable MAGA Garbage )
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