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California man recovers stolen BMW thanks to AirTag and dashcam videos

Another stolen car has been recovered thanks to a hidden AirTag, this time in California. Speaking to NBC News, Philip Obando said that he woke up and walked out of his house to find that his BMW was gone.

Thanks to the hidden AirTag and dashcam video, Obando was able to get a pretty clear idea of when the car was stolen, who stole it, and what the thief did with it.

After realizing his car had been stolen, Obando opened the Find My app on his iPhone and quickly located the AirTag on the map.

Thanks to dashcam video, which you can see below, Obando has clear evidence of the thief swapping license plates, going through a car wash, and plotting to steal another car. It also helps that the thief left his wallet behind in the car.

There is one key thing I want to point out: in this situation, the victim tracks the stolen car with the AirTag, then confronts the alleged thief himself. As NBC News rightfully points out in the video, don’t risk your life. Contact the police.

“My wife says, ‘There is the car! The person is gassing it up.’ She said ‘Get out of the car and go get it’ and I jumped out of the car,” Obando said.

Obando confronted the man as his wife blocked in the car at the gas pump.

“I had an extra fob, click it, car beeped and that’s when the guy said ‘Oh, oh man…’ and he just fled,” he said.

Check out the full video from NBC News below:

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Avatar for Chance Miller Chance Miller

Chance is the editor-in-chief of 9to5Mac, overseeing the entire site’s operations. He also hosts the 9to5Mac Daily and 9to5Mac Happy Hour podcasts.

You can send tips, questions, and typos to chance@9to5mac.com.

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