The New York Police Division is popping to Apple AirTags to fight an increase in stolen autos it blames on a TikTok automotive theft problem. In a press convention on Sunday, NYC Mayor Eric Adams introduced that town is handing out 500 free AirTags to assist residents monitor their vehicles in case they’ve been stolen.

Mayor Adams mentioned there’s a direct hyperlink between the rise in automotive thefts within the metropolis and the viral TikTok movies from thieves generally known as the “Kia Boyz” that first emerged final summer time. In clips posted to the platform, the pair taught customers the best way to exploit a Hyundai and Kia defect that permit them begin a automotive utilizing a USB cable and different available instruments.

Since then, cities throughout the US have seen a rise in automotive thefts, particularly amongst Hyundai and Kia autos. Whereas Hyundai and Kia have began providing a free software program replace to the thousands and thousands of affected autos in February, that doesn’t imply everybody has pushed to their native dealership to get it.

“You will notice the spike that we’re experiencing now’s a big a part of what’s taking place on social media,” Adams mentioned. In response to John Chell, NYPD chief of patrol, town has already seen 966 stolen Hyundais and Kias this yr up to now, marking a rise of 819 from all of 2022. In the meantime, 4,500 autos have been reported stolen total.

Mayor Adams, a self-proclaimed tech geek, has been selling the usage of expertise throughout the NYPD to catch criminals, typically to the dismay of NYC residents. Final month, Adams introduced that the NYPD is bringing again the extremely controversial four-legged robotic, dubbed Digidog. Town can be piloting a car-mounted launcher that shoots GPS monitoring tags onto autos, together with a “totally autonomous outside safety robotic.” When Adams first entered workplace final yr, he elected to get his first three paychecks in cryptocurrency.

Apple’s AirTags are usually used to trace issues like a handbag, pockets, suitcase, or set of keys in actual time, however additionally they come in useful when serving to individuals monitor down their stolen vehicles. Though town is encouraging residents to cover the AirTags inside their vehicles to make them tougher for a thief to search out, an AirTag security function might alert a thief of its presence anyway.

In 2021, Apple added a function that notifies iPhone customers when an unknown AirTag is touring with them to assist fight stalking (and, funnily sufficient, automotive thefts). The corporate additionally launched an Android app that scans for AirTags and different Discover My-enabled units, but it surely doesn’t function within the background because the function does on an iPhone — you must manually scan for the units. Android customers can also’t make the most of AirTag monitoring options within the first place, because the units are solely appropriate with iPhones.

The NYPD received’t have entry to the real-time location of the AirTags that it’s making a gift of. Mayor Adams notes that folks should notify the police division that their automobile has been stolen after which give the authorities permission to trace their automotive. Town is just distributing the AirTags, which it obtained as a donation from the nonprofit Affiliation for a Higher New York, to residents in Fortress Hill, Soundview, and Parkchester, who can name their native precinct to get one, in keeping with CBS Information.