'Perfect for stalkers:' Wake Forest mom says Apple AirTag secretly tracked her daughter

However, the small devices are increasingly being used to allegedly stalk or unknowingly track people. Reports of such uses have sprung up in California, New York, Louisiana – and in our very own Wake Forest, North Carolina.

Five On Your Side spoke exclusively with Holly Ziegler, who says her daughter was tracked by an unwanted AirTag while driving home from a trip to Sam’s Club.

"It was really scary. I had never heard about something like this before," said Ziegler.

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Holly’s daughter, Summer Ziegler, said she saw a message pop up on her phone indicating that an AirTag was detected nearby.

Holly and Summer drove straight to the Wake Forest Police Department. They were never able to find the AirTag and believe it fell off their car while driving to the station.

According to Apple’s website, the AirTag is designed with security in mind and aims to discourage unwanted tracking. However, 5 on Your Side wanted to test the situation out – and see just how well it worked in tracking a person.

Pritchard Strong, lead producer for 5 on Your Side, handed reporter Keely Arthur an AirTag connected to his phone at around 9:30 a.m. in Village District in Raleigh. Arthur drove to Weaver Street Market in downtown Raleigh, which is about 1.2 miles from the Village District.

The AirTag and “Find My” network have unique Bluetooth identifiers that change frequently, which prevented Strong from tracking Arthur. As she was traveling, however, it did reveal her location within 30 minutes –– showing Strong exactly where she was.

If an AirTag that is not connected to your Apple ID follows you for a period of time, a message will pop up on your iPhone alerting you.

You should open the message and then follow the prompts on your phone, which will show you how to turn on the sound on the AirTag to locate the tag, and then how to disable the AirTag by removing its battery.

Chris Swecker, the former assistant director of the FBI, spoke to WRAL News about the privacy concerns the device presents.

“When Apple puts something out, it becomes viral,” Swecker said.

Swecker says AirTags are similar to devices that private investigators used for years, but because of Apple’s popularity many more people will now have access to this type of technology.

“It’s a perfect vehicle for stalkers and a perfect vehicle for people who want to spy on someone and violate their privacy in so many ways," he said.

Chapel Hill Police Sgt. Charlie Pardo says while there are no documented cases of AirTag stalking in his municipality, he encourages anyone who is concerned that an AirTag is being used to track them to call 911, adding that this type of situation could lead to stalking charges.

Lawmakers are taking note of this issue. Pennsylvania state Rep. John Galloway plans to introduce legislation to make it illegal for an AirTag to be used for stalking.

Wake Forest PD does not have a police report on this incident involving the Ziegler’s because the Ziegler family did not wish to file one. Holly did share her experience on social media, however, to make other moms aware of the situation.