The police warn: suspicious activities in Rheinbrohl increase!

In the night from Thursday to Friday, three packages were stolen from an unlocked garden hut on Hauptstraße in Rheinbrohl. In addition, a wallet from a car in Pfarrer-Volk-Straße was stolen between Sunday and Saturday. The owner had equipped the wallet with an Airtag, which made it possible to localize the location. The police found the Airtag in a close cigarette machine without the wallet.

On Sunday morning at around 2 a.m., a couple was awakened in Schulstrasse when a suspicious male person around the parked cars crept and unauthorized. This person could not be expelled by switching on the interior lighting and stayed on the property for several minutes. Information on suspects are requested to the Linz police inspection on the Rhine. Video recordings from the suspects can be sent by email to pilinz@polizei.rlp.de. If suspected persons on land are suspected of contact with the Linz on the Rhine Police Inspectorate.

abuse of Airtags

An Apple Airtag is a small location device that was developed to recover objects such as keys or handbags. However, it is known that Airtags can also be misused for stalking by being secretly placed in bags or cars. Airtags communicate via Bluetooth with Apple devices and use the Apple network to transmit location. Apple devices receive warning messages if a foreign Airtag moves near you, but these reports can arrive delayed. Android users have no automatic warning function.

In the German Criminal Code (StGB) there is no specific regulation that directly punishes the unauthorized tracking with Airtags. Regulations such as Section 123 of the Criminal Code (HUSTRECTION SCHROSE) and Section 126a of the Criminal Code (distribution of personal data) are not applicable in this context. Cyberstalking and cyberbullying has taken place in a change in the law of August 10, 2021, but not the unauthorized tracking with Airtags. The placement of an Airtag does not require the victim's repeated vision, which excludes the application of § 238 StGB.

The legislature has so far not sufficiently taken into account the developments in the field of misuse of air. A possible criminal liability could theoretically be conceivable under Section 238 (1) No. 8 of the Criminal Code (reconciliation of catchment), but is constitutionally problematic. Data protection laws such as the BDSG and TTDSG are also not applicable, since the actions do not usually take place for economic or professional purposes, such as lto.de reported.

A comprehensive consideration of the problem and possible legal measures are urgently required, since the dangers through abusive location devices increase.