In an effort to warn others, a Tennessee family spoke out after being left terrified and confused after receiving an alarming notification while visiting Disney World in Florida.
Jennifer Gaston recounted to Fox News 35 how she and her family, including her young daughter Madison, spent the day at the Magic Kingdom theme park.
As they were among the last guests exiting the park, Madison suddenly received a notification on her phone while they were on the monorail — a message indicating that they were being tracked using an Apple AirTag.
The message read: "Your current location can be seen by the owner of this AirTag... If this AirTag is not familiar to you, you can disable it and stop sharing your location." The message also included a map showing their whereabouts within the park over a four-hour period.
Unable to locate the AirTag, the family quickly took action. They secured themselves in their car, exited the park, and contacted the police.
Jennifer expressed their feelings of terror, stating: "We were terrified, we were confused, hurt, and scared". As her daughter monitored the tracking notification, the mom says: "She literally watched it follow us from the tram all the way back to our vehicle."
Despite their panic, the family realized that the AirTag had likely fallen out of their belongings. Jennifer recounted the relief of discovering that the AirTag was still at their Disney parking spot, having likely slipped out during their frantic search.
"As [her daughter] was refreshing it, it showed the AirTag was still in our parking spot so somehow when we were frantically shaking out clothes and dumping everything out of our bags it fell out," Gaston recalled.
While AirTags are commonly used to track misplaced items like keys or wallets, security expert David Benson warned of more sinister uses, including stalking or theft of high-end vehicles.
Benson told Fox35: "Some people who have ill will towards others are using it to potentially stalk people, follow people, tag vehicles, high luxury vehicles, that they might want to come back and steal.
"Even if it’s not at epidemic proportions, it’s happening enough where it’s concerning."
Benson advises individuals in similar situations to avoid returning home or to their hotel. Instead, seek refuge in a crowded public space and contact the authorities.
Thankfully, Jennifer, Madison, and the family emerged from the ordeal unharmed, though the mom acknowledged that their story could have had a much darker outcome.
Grateful for their safety, she emphasized the importance of vigilance and awareness, urging others to heed their experience as a cautionary tale.
The local sheriff's office confirmed receipt of a report but emphasized the challenge of addressing such incidents without the AirTag in hand.
Apple has also provided information on how you can stay safe and make sure you get the safety notifications HERE.
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