**A Suspicious Encounter Abroad Highlights iPhone Security Features**

Last month, I received an anxious email from a TidBITS reader, Beverley, who had encountered a suspicious situation while traveling abroad. The experience was unsettling, but also highlighted some of the impressive security features built into modern iPhones.

Beverley was walking down the street in El Calafate, a tourist town in Patagonia, Argentina, when she was approached by a woman with a British accent who claimed to be looking for a hotel shuttle pickup location. The woman showed Beverley a map on her phone, but it was fuzzy and hard to read. To help, Beverley pulled out her iPhone 17 Pro and opened Maps to get a clearer view.

As she compared the two maps, Beverley's iPhone vibrated. The woman immediately said, "Oh look, I've probably shared all my contacts with you!" Beverley pointed out the location on the map, and several other women who "looked more local" approached. The original woman thanked Beverley and walked off confidently to the left, showing none of the hesitation one might expect from someone genuinely lost.

However, when Beverley followed at a distance, the group turned a corner and quickly disappeared down an alley. This raised her suspicions that the woman was trying to compromise her iPhone. Several details stood out in retrospect:

• The woman's iPhone had a white cylindrical accessory attached to the bottom, which Beverley initially thought was a backup battery.
• When Beverley's iPhone vibrated, there was no accompanying on-screen notification.
• The woman walked in the opposite direction from where she'd asked for help, and the other women disappeared quickly as well.

Beverley went to change her Apple Account password using her iPhone, but because she had Stolen Device Protection on and was in an unfamiliar location, she had to wait an hour after starting the task. Later, back at the hotel, she changed it again using her iPad to be doubly sure.

She wondered if she should change the passwords for important accounts, given that her potentially compromised iPhone would be used for authentication. Should she reset the iPhone, and would restoring an iCloud backup while traveling be difficult? The uncertainty left her hesitant to proceed with a plan that might leave the iPhone in a problematic state.

Rich Mogull, our security editor, weighed in on the situation. He confirmed that he is unaware of any attacks that would work on a device like that and called the iPhone 17 Pro "the most secure consumer device available." Apple has added new hardware protections in the latest iPhone models, making it highly resistant to opportunistic attacks.

The most likely explanation for the vibration was NameDrop, an iOS feature that makes it easy to transfer contact information when two iPhones are brought close together. The woman's quick comment about "sharing contacts" suggests she knew what had happened and was trying to normalize it. However, NameDrop should show an animation and a notification along with a vibration, which Beverley didn't recall seeing.

Testing revealed that NameDrop can initiate contact sharing even if AirDrop is set to Receiving Off. This means iPhone proximity can trigger the feature without any information being exchanged unless you explicitly approve the action.

The incident raises questions about whether it was a scam or simply a lost tourist asking for navigation help. Rich Mogull noted that he had a similar experience in New York City the week before with a tourist who was utterly lost.

After several weeks back home, Beverley has seen no signs of malicious activity on her iPhone or online accounts. It seems safe to say it wasn't the sort of sophisticated attack often shown on TV and in movies.

**Lessons We Can Take Away**

The experience highlights some key takeaways for iPhone users:

• Help people while staying aware of your surroundings and protecting your belongings.
• Monitor for unusual behavior, such as unexpected charges, roaming or data spikes, unprompted Apple Account sign-in alerts, or eSIM changes.
• Be extra alert for phishing; don't tap links in urgent email or text messages—navigate directly to the website to verify.
• If nothing odd shows up in the next day or two, you're almost certainly safe.

In short, modern iPhones are highly resistant to opportunistic attacks, and most "weird tech moments" on the road aren't evidence of hacking. Stay helpful, keep proximity sharing in check, use biometrics, and stay alert—caution without paranoia is the right balance.