$4 Tracking Devices Flood Online Market

Tran Tien from Ho Chi Minh City recently bought five tracking devices for VND100,000 each and put them on his key chain, dog collar, motorcycle and bag to prevent theft.

“I bought them on Facebook and they worked great at first.”

However, after a week he noticed that some of them were not providing the correct location.

In recent months, many sellers have been offering similar devices on Facebook and e-commerce platforms for VND70,000-150,000, which is 1/10th the price of Apple’s AirTag (VND800,000) and Samsung’s SmartTag (VND600,000-800,000).

All from unknown brands like MMLuck, Momax, Smatrul and Sualio, they are small and light enough to attach or place in most household items. They can be connected to an iPhone to show up in Apple’s Find My tracking app.

“Their prices are so low and they work exactly the same as Apple products,” said Hoang Hai, a salesperson.

He sells about 30 a day, sometimes as many as 50, mostly through e-commerce platforms and Facebook.

Sellers typically import them from China, either through e-commerce platforms Taobao and 1688 or from Chinese suppliers.

Internal components of the tracker. Photo: VnExpress/Bao Lam

One device, called Sualio Tag, connects to a nearby iPhone instantly when the user presses a button.

Once setup is complete, its location will be displayed in Apple’s Find My app just like any other Apple device.

It uses the same battery that Apple uses in its Airtag.

Quang Dinh, a technician in Ho Chi Minh City, said the trackers use the same chip as the Airtag and other similar devices, but it is connected to a new circuit board of lower quality than the circuit boards of well-known brands.

“That’s why a cheap device can connect to Apple devices.”

Dinh suspects that manufacturers are taking chips from used Apple devices and putting them into new trackers.

Vo Do Thang, CEO of the Athena Center for Network Administration and Security Training, said that ordinary criminals could use these devices to track people because they are very cheap.

“Bad guys aren’t afraid to lose them. They can be placed in bags, motorcycles, cars and other items to track a target’s location.”

He warned that there is also a possibility that these devices contain malware that could be activated to steal personal information, so people should refrain from using them.