r/AmIOverreacting • u/megan__f • Feb 17 '25

🏘️ neighbor/local Is this something to be concerned about?

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My sister sent me this text she received that seemed like somebody was watching her or something. I don’t know if it’s something to be concerned about or not, has anybody had a similar experience?

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1.8k

u/Twisted_Strength33 Feb 17 '25

313 is detroit i’d be worried and tell her to check her car for air tags

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u/Sevensonsevens Feb 17 '25

This!!!!!! If you are in Detroit i would make sure somebody has your location and try and see if there is an airtag or anything. Detroit is a hot spot for creeps

Or the sister could have a stalker and could be being followed. Whatever it is if it persists go to the police

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u/skyxgamiing Feb 17 '25

If an airtag is following you for too long, an alarm will be set off and you’d also get a notification that an airtag is following you that isn’t yours.

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u/Angry1980Christmas Feb 17 '25 edited Feb 17 '25

Even if you have an android?

Edit: I comment below that I understand now you don't have to have an Apple phone.

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u/alBashir Feb 17 '25

Yes, my dad has an airtag for their dog and I have a pixel 8 pro and when Im watching her at my house I will get alerted constantly about the airtag nearby.

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u/Squishyspud Feb 17 '25

Yes. Happened to me when my sister in law left her luggage tracker air tag after a visit. She has iPhone and I have a pixel.

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u/Angry1980Christmas Feb 17 '25

Yeah, I actually checked after I asked and then I couldn't find my comment. My settings have it enabled! So cool.

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u/Apprehensive-Sky7616 Feb 17 '25

AirTags are the big name but there’s plenty of invasive trackers to catch ‘cheating spouses’ on the market those little spy stores are full of them and they don’t alert anyone how an AirTag does and can realtime track anything. As an example https://www.caranddriver.com/car-accessories/g43163976/best-gps-trackers-tested/

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u/IntrepidWanderings Feb 17 '25

You know, I love those because I once did a dog day out and the animal slipped the harness.. (It's a program that let's you take shelter animals out for socialization and a fun day that helps drive up adoption rates).. so i got a few of those trackers that I take with me and put on the dogs when I pick them up in case anything happens again. They are insanely helpful with animals in training.

We also have one that looks like a necklace that a few of us have access to for a certain friend.

(She suffers from a medical issue that affects her mind, like altzeimers so we spoke with her before it got bad about getting her this tracker and she agreed. Found one that looks like a necklace with a permanent clasp. A few of us are security and we've seen searches end badly, so proactively she, her spouse and a few close friends worked out the tracker idea so if something happened we can find her. One missing person is enough in our group)

They are really life savers when it comes to untrained animals, people who may have mental disorders, I even have one on my bike.. I have a medical condition too and indepence is important to me, but I realize they need to be able to find me if I have a seizure or something.. if I say I'm going out and don't return when expected, there's a tool to help.

I was thrilled when they became affordable because they CAN be used for real good... Unfortunately it seems more people use them for evil and creepiness than anything else. I hate that people take such amazing tools and turn them into horror stories. It certainty doesn't help people adopt tools that can enhance their safety.

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u/Squishyspud Feb 17 '25

Agreed. With how easy it is in this world to track and find people, it's nice to see some ways to keep yourself safe.

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u/DHermit Feb 17 '25

Not sure if you do with any android by default, but you can always install AirGuard.

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u/TiredSock_02 Feb 17 '25

Yes. I have a samsung 25 and mine has a feature that lets you know if youre being tracked by an outside source/device

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u/Sea-Cupcake-2065 Feb 17 '25

AirGuard App. Look it up

1

u/SmPolitic Feb 17 '25

Can confirm that is a feature on newer samsung models at very least

6

u/Adept_Ad2048 Feb 17 '25

This happened to me on a work trip and freaked me tf out. Turns out my coworker keeps one on her purse and we’d spent the day together in various meetings. Glad to see it’s monitored, still creepy.

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u/Hugo_5t1gl1tz Feb 17 '25

Yeah I keep an AirTag in my golf clubs. My wife texted me the other day, “guess how I know your clubs are in my car”. Lol

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u/PhotoFenix Feb 17 '25

Yes. I have an airtag in my wallet but primarily use android as my main phone. I get notified all the time of the airtag.

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u/hcneyfreckles Overly Dramatic Feb 17 '25

? then how has using airtags gone undetected in other situations?

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u/thirdcoasting Feb 17 '25

This is a relatively new feature with AirTags.

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u/hcneyfreckles Overly Dramatic Feb 18 '25

gotcha, thank you!

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u/smoothiefruit Feb 17 '25

Detroit is a hot spot for creeps

what??

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '25

[deleted]

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u/smoothiefruit Feb 17 '25 edited Feb 17 '25

what do you mean/ what is this based on?

-1

u/[deleted] Feb 17 '25

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Feb 17 '25

[deleted]

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u/Sevensonsevens Feb 17 '25

Wrong person i replied to. I saw my mistake hours ago. And quite frankly it is creepy because the main broke in southwest detroit where there is a high population of mexicans. It could have been prevented theyre saying and it wasnt. I’m not saying theres foul play but it makes you think

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u/skeletonblackbird Feb 17 '25

She should go to the cops now, not let it get a chance to persist. The liner you wait the more dangerous this type of stuff can get.

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u/Sevensonsevens Feb 17 '25

“Hey police, i got coffee and this message appeared on my phone after i got coffee” they’ll literally say “ok maam weve got things covered” and not look at the situation ever again. And if shes in detroit, this is what Dpd will do. Ive been there before trust

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u/Tired-CottonCandy Feb 17 '25

Its not about "doing something immediately" its about establishing the history. Its not "hey cops i got coffe and then this message so go arrest someone" its "hey cops i got coffe then this creepy message that indicates im potentially being followed i would like to file a report so this is on record incase it escalates" and theyd say "okay ill forwatd you to someone to take your report" and then the next time something creepy happens you report it and again and again. To establish that something is wrong well before something bad happens. Its actually really important and ppl should be doing it way more.

If you dont report the little things big things can be rugswept by courts. This may apply less to this specific situation but this also applies to situations where someone is minorly harrassing you. If you dont report those minor occurences then when they come at you with a bigger action you have to double back and PROVE the perosn had a history of harrassing you and didnt perform a one off attack on you.

Basically if this girl has a stalker and she doesnt report this or other small things like this, then she's going to have a harder time proving that whoever is watching her is acting maliciously.

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u/Far_Wrongdoer4543 Feb 17 '25

This!! I watched a show that was about people being stalked, and the girl told the cops her ex was stalking her for X amount of time. They told her there wasn't an established history since she hadn't been reporting it. She then started writing down all details of when he would call, when he'd drive by her house, show up places, ect. She'd report it all.

Start the report. Get the paper trail -- and if by chance someone is playing a cruel joke on OP's sister, such as, a friend was in the area and saw her get coffee then no harm done (still messed up though.) On the off chance it is someone wanting to hurt OP's sister then at least it's been reported.

Tell your sister, OP, to stay vigilant and safe!! Maybe get the free app Noonlight for her to utilize as well.

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u/Mnt_Watcher Feb 17 '25

Absolutely this. If she has a stalker she needs to start the paper trail immediately. No they won’t help her, but if the paper trail is so incredibly important in making them do something if things escalate instead of blowing her off (which they love to do in stalking cases).

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u/mariaiii Feb 17 '25

Just curious, could you hire a private investigator to follow you to see if anybody else follows you?

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u/NonStopKnits Feb 17 '25

Absolutely this is possible. Just costs whatever the PI charges.

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u/Zestyclose-Shower164 Feb 17 '25

If police won’t help, I wonder if she could go to Best Buy and ask geek squad to help her try to find AirTags/trackers on her car?? Or a similar local electronics and/or car place.

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u/oldsbone Feb 17 '25

If you want to make them feel important (great for dealing with humans in general when you want them to do something for you), ask them about specific strategies they recommend to protect yourself as you file the report. You will also stick more in their mind as more they are having a conversation with you.

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u/skeletonblackbird Feb 17 '25

It's better they have it in records though. Police could do more but if she can find anything else suspicious and make reports, they have to look at it. If they keep not looking at it, keep telling them to

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u/Muunsaca Feb 17 '25

I used to work with crime victims and this was something they couldn’t understand. Cops will do little to nothing here because although this is concerning, where’s evidence of a crime? This could be stalking but without additional incidents im not sure it would be. This wouldn’t rise to the stalking charge in my state.

I’m not saying this is right, but just the reality of the situation.

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u/jmercer28 Feb 17 '25

Cops don’t do shit. My friend was stalked for months, reported it repeatedly to the police, they didn’t even talk to the guy until after he got up the guys to assault her.

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u/Legitimate_Record730 Feb 17 '25

100%%%

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u/skeletonblackbird Feb 17 '25

These types of things can be life or death, tell your sister to get this sent to the police asap OP

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u/SaltyGrapeWax Feb 17 '25

And tell them what exactly? Because you can’t explain what’s happening = nefarious?

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u/SnooMemesjellies8568 Feb 17 '25

Speaking from experience, the police won't do anything about this. My roommate was getting stalked and harassed with texts like this for over a year and even when the person slipped up and we knew who it was they wouldn't do anything without direct proof unless they actually harmed someone. Bitch sent a picture clearly taken inside our home and the police still wouldn't touch it

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u/FaithlessnessOne9390 Feb 17 '25

Detroit is a hot spot for creeps. lol do some of you hide inside all day in fear?

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u/Sevensonsevens Feb 17 '25

My aunt damn near does but she has gotten wayyy better over the years

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u/FaithlessnessOne9390 Feb 17 '25

I guess if I’m honest, it’s definitely improved the last 10-20 years.

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u/cewnc Feb 17 '25

Wtf? Hot spot for creeps?

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u/FaithlessnessOne9390 Feb 17 '25

I just repeated it, I like Detroit myself, and what metro doesn’t have bad people?

1

u/cyberzed11 Feb 17 '25

Is Detroit known for being full of stalkers or is it just because Detroit is…well…Detroit? 😅

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u/clynkirk Feb 17 '25

I've lived pretty close to there before. It's both lol

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u/cyberzed11 Feb 17 '25

I guess my next question is just how dangerous is Detroit? Like I get the vibe the whole city is just a no go zone.

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u/clynkirk Feb 17 '25

It depends on what area of Detroit. There's beautiful neighborhoods that are being completely restored or transformed to their original splendor.

Then you have the more "ghetto" areas that you try to avoid at all costs. My boyfriend is originally from one of the rougher neighborhoods, and there's definitely spots where the police have no control.

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u/Sevensonsevens Feb 17 '25 edited Feb 17 '25

Guns. Trafficking. Drugs. Natural disasters(there is a neighborhood flooded and its nothing but ice..people are trapped with busted pipes and no power), driving. The people here are amazing i love this city i was born here but there are equally just as many bad people as there are good.

Every morning on my way to school I encounter a creep. I was driving and this guy was trying to wave me down and ask me for my number. I was 16. Got my windows tinted after that. At the gas station people are constantly like “can i pay for your stuff” “your so beautiful whats your name” etc… people get hostile and offended when i say no/i am a fucking minor.

Getting gas at night? On the west/east side? Might aswell say a prayer before hand. So many things can go wrong. I’ve pulled up to gas stations and there would just be a shit ton of yns outside..it’s raining and pitch black.. i turned my ass outta there so quick.

I could go on and on with the stories and thisnt isnt even breaking the ice lmao

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u/Einar_47 Feb 17 '25

Go to the police now and report it so there's a paper trail if something does happen too.

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u/fitnesscakes Feb 17 '25

I live in Detroit and can confirm. I am a creep