A Southern California woman fed up with her packages getting stolen out of her post office box sent an Apple AirTag to the address and cleverly tracked down the suspected thief, police said.

The woman had had several items stolen from her mailbox at the Los Alamos Post Office already when she thought of the idea, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday. Apple’s $29 AirTags have become popular items since their 2021 release, helping users keep tabs on the location of anything from their lost keys to wallets and luggage.

On Monday morning, sheriff’s deputies were called to the post office where the woman told officials her mail had been stolen again — including the package with the AirTag.

  • @[email protected]
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    694 months ago

    Yeah it’s a federal offense. That said cops can be lazy as shit and usually won’t bother to help unless you’re someone who’s important to them.

    • @[email protected]
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      244 months ago

      USPS does NOT fuck around with mail crimes. Reporting it to them means they’ll bring the hammer down.

      • Scott
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        114 months ago

        Yep I had a USPS worker sign on a signature required package, had it on video.

        Pretty sure he was fired because he fucked around and found out on a package I specifically requested to be signed required.

    • @IphtashuFitz
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      4 months ago

      If it’s US Mail then contact the US Postal Inspection Service. They’re federal law enforcement specifically for the USPS, and they don’t fuck around.

      • @[email protected]
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        134 months ago

        Sure, maybe they don’t fuck around, but they also aren’t funded so they don’t do jack shit for you. Thanks DeJoy and Republicans.

    • @[email protected]
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      84 months ago

      Local police also aren’t generally the best to contact over federal offenses. If it’s not immediately actionable, they tend to lose interest and just shove the paperwork onto the “when we get around to it” pile