The National Police arrested a couple in Playa de Palma accused of stealing money, phones, and cards from several people. The key to success was that a victim located their phone using geolocation, allowing officers to intercept the suspects' vehicle and find the objects hidden on the car roof. This action demonstrates that activating location on devices can be a useful tool for recovering belongings and collaborating with authorities.
How geolocation works on mobile devices 📍
Geolocation on smartphones uses GPS signals, Wi-Fi networks, and cell towers to determine the exact position of the device. Services like Find My iPhone or Android's Find My Device allow tracking a phone even if it is in silent mode. In this case, the victim shared the location data with the police, who were able to triangulate the location and act quickly. Keeping this feature activated not only helps recover the phone but also provides clues for officers to identify those responsible, as happened in this intervention.
The thieves forgot that phones also have GPS 😅
It seems the crooks in Playa de Palma didn't watch enough action movies to know that hiding loot on the car roof doesn't make them invisible to satellite tracking. The couple thought hiding the phones under the lining was enough, but they ran into a victim who knew how to use their phone better than they did for stealing. Good thing criminals don't update their methods at the same pace as technology, or we'd have to start putting trackers in wallets too.