A young woman revealed how she managed to locate her stolen AirPods and confront the thief using an app.
Alexandra Parmenter, 30, noticed the expensive headphones were missing from her handbag while shopping at a charity shop in Hawthorn, east of Melbourne, earlier this year.
Ms Parmenter used the Find My app, a tracking software used to locate lost Apple items, to track the AirPods.
She noticed the item moving on the app for about 20 minutes and narrowed the location down to several townhouses in the area.
“I noticed the AirPods were there, so I rang all the bells for probably five to ten minutes straight,” Parmenter said. yahoo.
The incident sparked concern among dozens of local residents as a determined Mrs Parmenter desperately tried to find the object.
A man then emerged from one of the apartments and said he had the AirPods before handing them over.
The AirPods were badly damaged and the man said he found them like this.
Ms Parmenter (pictured) realised her AirPods were missing when she noticed the expensive earphones were no longer in her wallet.
“Even though they have bite marks, they still work, they still charge (although the case doesn’t close properly) and I use them every day,” Parmenter said.
Ms Parmenter said she took matters into her own hands and that police were of little help after her Prada wallet was stolen in a separate incident.
ReadyTechGo co-founder and tech expert Lisa Hu urged people not to risk their safety by using the Find My app.
Ms Hu said using the app’s tracking information is not always a good idea as it could lead to potentially dangerous confrontations with strangers.
“If it were me, I wouldn’t go to anyone’s house, or at least take a friend with me,” Hu said.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia that people are urged to contact Triple Zero to prevent the situation from escalating.
“Our message is clear: your safety and the safety of your family is our number one priority,” the spokeswoman said.
‘Police receive extensive training that provides them with the skills and resources necessary to respond to security issues.’
Ms Parmenter came face to face with the alleged thief after using the Find My app, a tracking software used to locate lost Apple items, to track the AirPods (file image)
Ms Parmenter admitted her actions were reckless and advised others not to do the same.
She said she didn’t consider the potential harm as she thought she would simply approach the person and ask for her Airpods back.