A Tennessee family says they were left "terrified" after receiving a notification that they were being tracked during a visit to Disney World in Florida.
Speaking to Fox News 35, Jennifer Gaston says she had spent the day at the Magic Kingdom theme park with her family - including her daughter, Madison. However, after being some of the last guests to exit the park, Madison suddenly received a notification on her phone as the mom and daughter were on the monorail.
The message revealed that they were being tracked using an Apple AirTag.
More in the report below:"Your current location can be seen by the owner of this AirTag," the message read. "This AirTag may be attached to an item you are borrowing. If this AirTag is not familiar to you, you can disable it and stop sharing your location."
The message also showed a map of the park and revealed all the locations the family had visited over a four-hour period.
After failing to locate the AirTag, the family jumped in their car, locked the door, exited the park, and called the police.
"We were terrified, we were scared... just hurt and confused," Jennifer says.
"As [Madison] was refreshing [the page] it showed that the AirTag was still in our parking spot at Disney. So, upon us shaking our clothes and frantically dumping everything out of our bags - somehow, it fell out," the mom added.
AirTags are often used by people to track items that are commonly misplaced - such as keys or wallets. However, some parents also use them to track their children - placing the tag in their rucksack, for example.
However, security expert David Benson told Fox 35 that some people also use the technology for more sinister reasons.
"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," Benson said.
Benson says that if you find yourself in a similar situation to Jennifer and Madison, you should not go home or back to your hotel. Instead, go to a busy public place and call the police.
Fortunately, the mom and daughter were safe, although, Jennifer says their story could have ended "way differently".
"I’m praising God we have the outcome we have, but it’s because she was diligent and aware of what to do," the mom added.
They're now sharing their story to warn others about this potential danger.
The local sheriff's office has revealed that it has taken a report, but there is very little officers can do without the AirTag.
