{"id":252932,"date":"2026-05-22T19:22:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T23:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/law-enforcement-says-helpful-tracking-tools-may-present-hidden-risks\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T19:45:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T23:45:12","slug":"law-enforcement-says-helpful-tracking-tools-may-present-hidden-risks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/law-enforcement-says-helpful-tracking-tools-may-present-hidden-risks\/","title":{"rendered":"Law enforcement says helpful tracking tools may present hidden risks"},"content":{"rendered":"

Law enforcement says helpful tracking tools may present hidden risks<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.wibw.com\/2026\/05\/22\/law-enforcement-says-helpful-tracking-tools-may-present-hidden-risks\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-05-22 19:22:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.wibw.com<\/a><\/p>\n

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Topeka police say stalking cases involving tracking technology like AirTags remain uncommon in Kansas, but the devices have appeared in some investigations.<\/p>\n

Detective Alexander Wall with the Topeka Police Department said the department sees a handful of stalking cases every year that involve some type of tracking device.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith every technology, you know, it gets used for the right reason, but then somebody finds a way to abuse it,\u201d Wall said.<\/p>\n

Investigators say when physical devices are used, they are often hidden in places people may not always check, like a purse, glove box, or under the hood of a car.<\/p>\n

But detectives say many cases today do not involve a hidden tracker at all. Instead, they rely on location software already carried on a person\u2019s phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this day and age, everybody takes their cell phone with them everywhere they go,\u201d Wall said.<\/p>\n

While tech companies have added security features to alert users of nearby tracking devices, software like Find My Friends can be covert. The risk is greater when passwords are shared or accounts are easily accessible.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo somebody may turn off their location on their phone, but then somebody [else] will go in on a web browser and actually turn it back on,\u201d Wall said.<\/p>\n

Wall offered a simple solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cChange that password. Once you can change that password, it will hopefully eliminate their ability to track you as well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Benjamin Aber, an officer with the Washburn University Police Department who works closely with organizations like the YWCA, has seen similar cases.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look at cyberstalking, physical stalking and using tracking devices all in the same category. It\u2019s all abuse, it\u2019s all stalking behavior,\u201d Aber said.<\/p>\n

Aber said that while uncommon, the impact is significant.<\/p>\n

Aber said anyone who suspects they are being tracked should document any findings and contact local law enforcement or support organizations.<\/p>\n

\u201cVictim service providers are one of the places to go outside…<\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Law enforcement says helpful tracking tools may present hidden risks https:\/\/www.wibw.com\/2026\/05\/22\/law-enforcement-says-helpful-tracking-tools-may-present-hidden-risks\/ Publish Date: 2026-05-22 19:22:00…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":252933,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/gray-wibw-prod.gtv-cdn.com\/resizer\/v2\/P7MAEWI5RBHFBMXA3A4APSQGMM.jpg?auth=b521ec08e802c63a3d811e96cc85a5dac7e3b69dd5a0c8ae751c9d430f832c69&width=1200&height=600&smart=true","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[87,57],"class_list":["post-252932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-automotive","tag-security"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252932"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252932"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":252934,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252932\/revisions\/252934"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}