While used car prices can vary, there's usually a reason a vehicle sells well below market value. You usually sacrifice something for the low price, whether that’s high mileage, hidden damage, or sketchy ownership history. But what if the issue isn’t with the car, but what’s inside it? That’s what one TikToker is claiming in a viral video about a car he bought. He believes someone was using it to track him, and maybe even steal it back. He Says He Found an AirTag under the Seat In a video posted to TikTok, which got over 10.6 million views, Abdallah (@.a.b.a.z) shows a white Jeep Grand Cherokee that he recently purchased. “POV: You buy a car off some sketchy people for a ‘too good to be true’ deal,” he writes in the caption. He opens the car door, lifts up the carpet underneath the driver’s seat, and reveals a storage compartment. There’s an Apple AirTag inside. OWNERSHIP STORIES Viral stories from across the web Our team of experts tracks what owners are saying about car-shopping, repairs, the daily driving experience and more on social media. “My neighbor saw someone tryna steal it the next day while I was gone at work,” he writes in an onscreen caption. That’s when he says he decided to search the vehicle more thoroughly, and that’s when things got even weirder.. A Hidden Camera and Late-Night Visitors? According to the overlay text, after removing the AirTag, he started hearing a “camera chime” every time he turned the car on. He holds up the AirTag to the camera, then says something else has been happening. “An unmarked tow truck has been visiting me around 2am every day to check if the car is parked outside,” he writes. He adds that he’s now parking in a garage and still hasn’t found the source of the camera chime. His Follow-Ups Raise More Questions In follow-up videos, Abdallah says he reprogrammed the key, but still hadn’t located the camera. Eventually, he posts another update where he says he found it: a small device hidden in the overhead window, which prevented it from closing all the way. He also finds other cables and devices throughout the car. Later, he makes a final update saying he sold the car because the situation got too strange. But in a more recent video, he’s filming filling up what appears to be the same car with gas. A commenter writes, “I thought you sold this car bro?? Was the series fake?” Abdallah didn’t answer, he just liked the comment. So is this story real? It’s hard to say. A quick look through Abdallah’s page shows other storytime-style videos that seem made for entertainment. This one might be fictional. But even if it is, the concerns it raises are real. There Are Scams Like This, and Worse While it’s rare for someone to track a buyer using an AirTag and try to steal a car back, people online say it has happened. One Quora user posted, “My recently purchased car has been stolen back by previous owners. How do I get it back now that it’s been located if I had not yet registered it because I was not using it?” Here are some common scams that could be hiding behind a “too good to be true” car deal: Title Washing: Some sellers alter the title to hide that a vehicle was once totaled or declared salvage. This allows them to charge more for a car that may be unsafe or heavily damaged. Odometer Fraud: Scammers roll back mileage to inflate value. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates this scam costs Americans over $1 billion a year. Fake Escrow Services: Scammers create realistic-looking escrow websites to trick buyers into sending money for a car that never gets delivered. Look for sketchy web design and a lack of verified contact info. Curbstoning: This is when people act like private sellers but flip cars full-time without a dealer license. They usually meet you in parking lots, avoid giving an address, and might list multiple cars under different names. These cars often have hidden issues. VIN Cloning: Thieves take the vehicle identification number from a real car and use it to make a stolen car look legit. If you unknowingly buy a cloned car, you could lose both the car and your money. Check the VIN in multiple places on the car and run it through the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System. People Aren’t Sure What to Believe In the comments, users had theories and advice. “Take it to a police station and explain what’s going on, they’ll probably help you find it,” one person wrote. “Airtag not even activated,” another pointed out. “You left the plastic on.” “Make sure the car is insured so if they do take it, at least you get a free replacement,” a third advised. “Imagine them losing their minds ‘cause they got outsmarted at their own game lol,” another commenter quipped. Motor1 has reached out to Abdallah via TikTok for more information. We’ll be sure to update this if he responds. We want your opinion! What would you like to see on Motor1.com? Take our 3 minute survey. - The Motor1.com Team
