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Am I being paranoid?

#21
Wolf Tone said:
In order for another person to hijack an AirTag, they would need to know there is an AirTag present and have an iPhone within about six inches of the AirTag to pair the AirTag with their device.
Yes, AirTags can be used for nefarious purposes such as tracking cars before theft or tracking people. I think in this context of tracking a bass with the AirTag in the bass cavity, the risk of hijack is low.
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I’m not sure your information is accurate. There is a recent story about a family being tracked around Disneyworld using Airtags, and I’m pretty sure they weren’t 6 inches away.

Risk might be low, but risk of a bass being stolen is also low. Sure, if you look at pure numbers the risk of a bass being stolen is higher, but this technology and the hacking is new-ish. In the future, who knows what the numbers will look like.

I personally have had Identity theft of 3 different occasions. No issues because all my credit information is locked and IRS requires special pins and confirmations, but for the average person ID theft risk is low. Doesn’t mean one doesn’t still mitigate risk. I personally would never use a hackable device to protect my equipment, if you feel good about doing it, you are likely correct that your equipment will never be hacked; but it’s not because they need to be 6” away, it’s because you never encountered persons trying to hack your equipment.
 
#24
I’d say it’s a good idea. Try to hide it in the cavity so even if they open it up, it won’t be obvious. I don’t think most thieves would be tearing it apart looking for a tracking device. They’d bring it home and hide the bass - maybe toss the case if they felt it could be tracked that way. Then get it to a pawn shop before you report it stolen or list it on Craigslist in a different city for cheap to get cash fast.

The Airtag would allow you to start tracking it fast and get it back (possibly with help of police) before the thief has time to do much with it.
 
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#25
Oldbasslover said:
I’m not sure your information is accurate. There is a recent story about a family being tracked around Disneyworld using Airtags, and I’m pretty sure they weren’t 6 inches away.

Risk might be low, but risk of a bass being stolen is also low. Sure, if you look at pure numbers the risk of a bass being stolen is higher, but this technology and the hacking is new-ish. In the future, who knows what the numbers will look like.

I personally have had Identity theft of 3 different occasions. No issues because all my credit information is locked and IRS requires special pins and confirmations, but for the average person ID theft risk is low. Doesn’t mean one doesn’t still mitigate risk. I personally would never use a hackable device to protect my equipment, if you feel good about doing it, you are likely correct that your equipment will never be hacked; but it’s not because they need to be 6” away, it’s because you never encountered persons trying to hack your equipment.
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The scenarios where people are tracked by criminals originate with the criminal using an Apple AirTag they set up and they throw it in another person's bag, purse, pocket, car, etc.
Professionally, I'm Head of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer for a corporation. I oversee all technology in a company that includes the Information Security and Cyber Security team. I'm also a hacker.
I haven't seen evidence that an Apple AirTag that is owned and being used by another person to track belongings can be hijacked by another person if the AirTag is not visible or otherwise known.
 
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#27
Wolf Tone said:
The scenarios where people are tracked by criminals originate with the criminal using an Apple AirTag they set up and they throw it in another person's bag, purse, pocket, car, etc.
Professionally, I'm Head of Information Technology and Chief Information Officer for a corporation. I oversee all technology in a company that includes the Information Security and Cyber Security team. I'm also a hacker.
I haven't seen evidence that an Apple AirTag that is owned and being used by another person to track belongings can be hijacked by another person if the AirTag is not visible or otherwise known.
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Sounds like you have a lot of expertise. Personally, that does not reassure me at all.
I’ll continue to use low tech, non-electronic means of keeping track of my equipment. For those that want to trust in cyber-security measures, I wish you the best of luck.
 
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#28
Knavery said:
I'm curious, what would you do if you had an Apple AirTag on it and it got stolen? Around here, the police wouldn't do a damn thing about it and a lot of other areas are probably the same. You certainly wouldn't go vigilante to get it back. This is a legitimate question. I'm not trying to be a smart a**.
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Knavery, It's nice to see someone from Westminster, CO on TalkBass. I'm in your same area. I agree the police won't pursue a stolen bass. They don't go after stolen cars let alone an instrument even if it cost $4,000+.
Personally, I would go get my bass back and I'll leave it at that.
 
#31
I am paranoid but that doesn’t mean someone won’t try to steal my stuff. I’ve always been super careful with my gear. I NEVER leave it in a parked car unless I have a clear line of vision from wherever I am and NEVER overnight anywhere. Not even in my own yard.
Every time I read about stuff being stolen from cars it’s like - “Why would you leave your stuff in a car anywhere?”
In all my years as a professional musician I never had anything stolen.
That’s a beautiful instrument. I wouldn’t let it out of my sight.
 
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#33
retslock said:
I am paranoid but that doesn’t mean someone won’t try to steal my stuff. I’ve always been super careful with my gear. I NEVER leave it in a parked car unless I have a clear line of vision from wherever I am and NEVER overnight anywhere. Not even in my own yard.
Every time I read about stuff being stolen from cars it’s like - “Why would you leave your stuff in a car anywhere?”
In all my years as a professional musician I never had anything stolen.
That’s a beautiful instrument. I wouldn’t let it out of my sight.
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Exactly. We used to live in a part of Bethesda MD that was originally turned from farm fields to housing around the mid to late 1940s. None of the houses were built with driveways or garages and street parking was the only option. It was a reasonably good neighborhood, but the major crime was people breaking into cars overnight.
 
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#35
Back in the late 80s my car was stolen with all my video production equipment inside. I parked 10 feet in front of a police car occupied by two police officers. It was about 10° outside. I had just packed my car with all my gear ran back inside the club to get paid. Came back saw my car pulling away ran over to the police officers. I told him what was happening and they said they will report it and they did not chase after the car thieves. A few days later I received a phone call that the police located my car. I asked him if they can meet me to get the car. They said no but they recommended that I bring some friends at a baseball bat because it’s in a bad neighborhood, lol.
 
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#38
Knavery said:
I'm curious, what would you do if you had an Apple AirTag on it and it got stolen? Around here, the police wouldn't do a damn thing about it and a lot of other areas are probably the same. You certainly wouldn't go vigilante to get it back. This is a legitimate question. I'm not trying to be a smart a**.
Click to expand...

The air tag will alert you in the even that it’s gone out side of your geo circle. Which would allow you see the theft in action.
 
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