After repeated thefts, she mailed herself an Apple AirTag as bait. It worked

Two mail theft suspects were thwarted by a tracking device and a Santa Barbara County woman who was fed up with her mail being stolen, authorities said.

On Monday, Santa Barbara County sheriff’s deputies were called to the Los Alamos Post Office shortly after 7 a.m. for a report of mail theft. Thieves stole items from a woman’s post office box, and this was not the first time the box was hit, she told deputies.

But this time, she decided to take matters into her own hands and mailed herself a package containing an Apple AirTag, a tracking device that can be used to help people find their personal items through a Bluetooth signal.

Her mail was stolen on Monday, according to the Sheriff’s Office, including the package with the tracking device. The woman showed deputies that she was able to track the package to the 600 block of East Sunrise Drive in Santa Maria.

Deputies found the woman’s mail, including the package with the AirTag along with items that were likely stolen from over a dozen additional victims, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

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Authorities arrested Virginia Franchessca Lara, 27, of Santa Maria and Donald Ashton Terry, 37, of Riverside on suspicion of the thefts. Lara was booked at the Northern Branch Jail on suspicion of possession of checks with intent to commit fraud, fictitious checks, identity theft, credit card theft and conspiracy, the Sheriff’s Office said. Her bail was set at $50,000.

Terry was booked on suspicion of burglary, possession of checks with intent to commit fraud, credit card theft, identity theft and conspiracy. He was also booked on several theft-related warrants from Riverside County. His bail was set at $460,000.

In a news release, the Sheriff’s Office thanked the post office box owner for taking a proactive approach and for not attempting to confront the suspects by herself. The case remains under investigation to identify any other victims.

A pack of four AirTag tracking devices costs $80, and each is about the size of a half-dollar coin. Apple is in the midst of a class-action lawsuit in California that accuses the company of taking inadequate steps to prevent stalkers from using the AirTag tracking devices, which the Silicon Valley company once called “stalker-proof.”