Woman's Warning After Airport Encounter With 'Creeper' Praised

A video of a woman recalling her encounter with a "creepy" stranger at an airport has gone viral on TikTok.

The clip was posted four days ago by Rhymes with jelly (@dinkprogressivedogmom) and has over 484,000 views at the time of writing.

The latest video is a follow-up to the poster's previous clip in which the woman says: "If you're a woman and you have an iPhone, please listen to this. This could either save your freakin' life or at the very least prevent a creepy a** man from stalking you."

The woman says she wanted to share "a first-hand experience I had an airport with a creeper" in her latest clip. A caption shared with the post reads: "Ladies, change your AirDrop name NOW!"

The woman goes on to explain how a man sitting next to her at an airport managed to track down her name via AirDrop, Apple's wireless service that allows users to share files with each other.

According to the Apple website, AirDrop is set to share with "contacts only" by default, which means only your contacts can see your device.

You can control who can see your device at the device's control center by tapping on "settings," then "general" and then "AirDrop," where you can switch to between contacts only, receiving off (which means you won't receive AirDrop requests) or everyone (which means that "all nearby Apple devices using AirDrop can see your device.")

You can also set your AirDrop option to "Everyone for 10 Minutes" in iOS 16.2 or later versions, which sees your option revert to contacts only after 10 minutes, the Apple website explains.

How to Keep Your Personal Information Safe Online

The woman's warning comes as many Americans were said to "fail to follow cybersecurity best practices in their own digital lives," according to a survey by the Pew Research Center reported in January 2017.

The survey found that just under a third (28 percent) of smartphone users said they do not use a screen lock or other security features to access their phone.

More than half (54 percent) of adults online reported that they access "potentially insecure public Wi-Fi networks," with around one in five of them saying these networks are used for "sensitive activities such as e-commerce or online banking," according to the survey.

The latest post was also shared during Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which was designated in 2004 as "a dedicated month for the public and private sectors to work together to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity," according to the U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

The CISA advises users to take the following measures to stay safe online:

• Using strong passwords that are "long, random, unique and include all four character types (uppercase, lowercase, numbers and symbols)."
• Turning on MFA (multi-factor authentication), which requires more than one password to access your accounts.
• Be cautious of unsolicited messages asking for personal information and report any phishing attempts.
• Ensuring your software is up to date, which is "the best way to make sure you have the latest security patches and updates on your devices," the agency said.

'Change Your AirDrop Name Now'

The woman in the latest viral video said she sat to next to a man at an airport after he told her, "Hey, if you need an outlet to charge your computer, you can use this one, I'm done using it."

After she thanked him and sat down, the woman said "literally within five minutes ... this man comes and sits down right next to me and says, 'Oh, I actually still have to charge my phone.'"

The woman said she was wearing headphones at the time, so "it's obvious that I am busy working on my computer."

According to the woman, the man kept "interrupting" her with "small talk" and she later told him, "Hey, I'm so sorry but I have a deadline and I have to focus on that."

Then later, "All of a sudden he asked 'Are you Kelly R?' and I literally froze like a deer in the headlights."

She replied, "How do you know that?" and he said, "Oh, I opened up my AirDrop."

She warns in the video: "Change your AirDrop Name now," as the clip ends.

In her previous post, the woman shared what appeared to be a screen grab of an iPhone screen indicating how to change your AirDrop name. You can do this by clicking on "settings," then "Apple ID," then "name, phone numbers, email" to edit the name.

Several users on TikTok praised the woman's warning in the latest viral clip.

Natalia K said: "Yes definitely change your name also only allow airdrops from contacts."

Christina wrote: "yup. That's why my airdrop is ALWAYS CONTACTS ONLY."

User @cozyelle13 said: "Y'all leave your airdrop on??? Mine is always off until I need it, then I turn it right back off."

Ren said: "Mine is usually off, and when it's on it's contacts only. But whew, men!!"

NotHerRealName wrote: "Mine is 'iPhone' but also I don't have AirDrop open for weirdos."

Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok. This video has not been independently verified.

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