It’s no secret that a good percentage of thefts are opportunistic in nature.Thieves target items that are easy to grab, so a good defense often boils down to making items less inviting.So what if you could do this with a 3D printer and 5g of filament? Printing decoy AirTags, SmartTags, and SmartTrack Links Make would-be thieves think twice Close I came across these anti-theft decoy item trackers while looking for interesting AirTag holders and mounts.
These dummy prints don’t contain any electronics or means of tracking whatever it is they’re attached to.They just look similar to the real deal.Designs include two types of Apple AirTag (one two-tone, one single-color), Samsung’s SmartTag 2, and Eufy’s SmartTrack Link.
The goal is simple: make it look like the item in question is being tracked using an item finder, thus making it less appealing to thieves.Logic dictates that an opportunistic thief will be put off by the added hassle of having to remove the tracker.It’s a lot harder to do this inconspicuously than it is to simply grab an item and walk off.
Item trackers aren’t exactly new, so thieves should be familiar with the fact that owners get an alert when the item they’re tracking is no longer in their immediate vicinity.Without a real AirTag or similar being present, that alert will never happen (but the thief doesn’t know that).Make them look real Add lanyards, keyrings, or holders I put this to the test and decided to print myself a Eufy SmartTrack Link, though I use AirTags for things like keys and my cats.
I partly chose this tracker because the AirTag decoy has a keyring hole that is not present on the real AirTag.I also don’t currently have any white or silver filament to print with.AirTags are also very easy to spot, since they’re the best-known of all the item trackers.
Personally, I’ve never seen a Eufy SmartTrack Link in the wild—though the design makes it pretty obvious what it is (there’s a big “Security” label on the front).I decided to print at the highest print quality possible on my P2S using matte black PLA, the stock 0.4mm nozzle, and layer lines of 0.08mm.At just shy of 5g filament, the print took just under 30 minutes, including calibration.
Though black PLA basic might have yielded better results (Bambu Lab definitely has a stock problem), it looks pretty good.There are some giveaways.Close-up, the part looks obviously 3D-printed.
It’s also incredibly light, which indicates no battery or electronic components are present.You could probably fix this by modifying the print and adding some sort of weight.I don’t think it really matters; the goal here is to trick thieves into overlooking the item it’s attached to from afar, not withstand up-close scrutiny.
For AirTags, as long as you can nail the metallic look (perhaps with some silver silk PLA filament), adding a keyring cover or mount would help sell the illusion.For the Eufy and Samsung, all it takes is a keychain or a lanyard loop to add a layer of authenticity, and the tracker looks like it belongs.For best results, combine with real item trackers Keep tracking once the decoy has been removed You might be thinking that these decoys are just a cheap way of convincing others that you’ve invested in item trackers to keep your possessions safe.
This is certainly one way to use them; the other is to draw attention away from the hidden tracker.This arguably works best on high-ticket items like bicycles, scooters, musical instrument cases, and any other items that give you plenty of chance to hide a real item tracker.You could even print of them; it all depends on how many places you can find to conceal them.
A dummy tracker might convince a (dummy) thief that the item can no longer be tracked, giving you a greater window of opportunity to track it down.I’m not going to recommend that you take matters into your own hands and confront the thief yourself, but you can take the information to the police and let them deal with it.Sometimes items like bags are dumped once the thief realizes there’s little of value within them (or takes what little they want).
Having a hidden AirTag gives you a chance to get some of your stuff back, even if you end up losing money and having your day ruined.Decoy item trackers aren’t a silver bullet.If you’re familiar with what a real tracker looks like, you can probably see right through the plan.
But for the minimal effort and filament cost, anything is worth a shot.Check out some more useful prints that use tiny amounts of filament.
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