GPS Tracking Systems » GPS vehicle tracking

Thief uses GPS to steal cars

Rich — Fri, 23 May 2008 13:13:53 +0000

After all the stories of stolen GPS units, and thieves getting caught stealing vehicles outfitted with GPS tracking systems, comes a tale with a twist.

Mitsuhisa Kobayashi had two ex-wives rent cars for him. He would then place a GPS tracking device in the car and make a copy of the key. With the ability to track its location, and a spare key, stealing the vehicle later was easy. So easy in fact, that he stole eight of them.

Kobayashi was in possession of three of the eight stolen cars when he was arrested by Nishinomiya Police Station in February. He told investigators: “I wanted to drive my favorite cars. I sold the other five cars on the Internet.”

DIY anti-theft tracking for your car

Rich — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 18:05:34 +0000

This is just cellular (not GPS) tracking, but it is a way cool and super-cheap way to make an anti-theft tracking device for your car. Basically, you record the phone’s international mobile equipment identification (IMEI) number, connect the phone to your car’s battery and set it to auto answer. Check out the video. You won’t believe how simple this.

SkyPatrol GPS car tracking system

Rich — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 09:31:04 +0000

SkyPatrol is a GPS car tracking system that locates your vehicle via GSM cellular networks. While it is used for fleet tracking, it is also used by individuals to track teen drivers and for stolen vehicle recovery. The hardware is priced at $399.99, though I’ve tracked down a $100 off discounted price for the
SkyPatrol GPS Vehicle Tracking System
at TigerGPS.

The monthly subscription fee is $19.99, which the company says is unlimited. When I asked about that, I was told…

The monthly service plan is unlimited. By unlimited we mean that the Evolution device can report a position at a frequency as low as every 3 minutes while the ignition is ON. Furthermore, the customer has the option to do a manual “Locate Now,” allowing the customer to keep track of the vehicle even when the ignition is OFF.

If truly unlimited, this could be a good deal, as many GPS tracking firms charge according to how many times you check on a vehicle’s location.

SkyPatrol installation costs $79.99. According to the company,

Regarding the installation cost, at $299.99 the installation is extra. We include in the packaging an InstallerNet card but the consumer will need to activate the card with InstallerNet and pay $79.99 for the installation. If the customer purchases the Evolution device from our website (www.myskypatrol.com) and pays $399.99, the installation is included.

GPS jamming device

Rich — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 19:13:53 +0000

Is someone snooping on you? Maybe you’re just paranoid; then again, maybe not. Well Chinavasion (no, I’m not making that name up) has a forthcoming GPS jamming device on their website that claims to be able to block signals over a range of 2 to 4 meters. Theoretically, that is enough to effectively eliminate the tracking threat. No word on availability, pricing or legality in the U.S.!

Via Navigadget.

GPS asset tracking thwarts million dollar heist

Rich — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 17:16:59 +0000

The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that a GPS tracking device thwarted the theft of 4704 Sony PS2 consoles, worth a reported $1 million. The semi-trailer carrying the game consoles was outfitted with a GPS asset tracking device. Police were able to track the trailer to a residence where the games were being off-loaded. Four men were arrested and are due to appear in court on August 13.

Mercedes-Benz ignores two court orders to track hit and run driver before complying

Rich — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 17:38:13 +0000

Last Tuesday night, 24-year-old Elizabeth Sandoval was killed by a hit and run driver in Glendale, California. Thanks to witness descriptions, the car and license tag were identified. Last Friday, Glendale Police Chief Randy Adams…

…admonished Mercedes-Benz of North America for refusing to comply with a court order to activate the car’s standard Global Positioning System so that authorities might pinpoint the sedan’s exact location.

“It’s one of the most frustrating thing in my 35 years of law enforcement,” he told reporters.

A court order police obtained at 2:30 p.m. Friday was faxed to Mercedes-Benz North American headquarters in New Jersey and to the company that provides the global positioning satellite service, Irving, Texas-based Tele-Aid.

A second court order was rebuffed as well before Mercedes-Benz of North America complied. The car was recovered (but not the suspect) only after Mercedes complied with the court orders. Perhaps a more timely response would have yielded the suspect as well.

It makes you wonder what kind of policy companies have on releasing GPS tracking information to law enforcement officials. Personally, I am amazed that they refused to comply.

Via Digg.

UPDATE: A couple of submitted (but unpublished) comments caused me to publish a comment policy.

7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals okays surreptitious GPS tracking by police

Phantom Tracking – GPS for motorcycles

Rich — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 16:02:27 +0000

Phantom Tracking is a specialized GPS tracking device targeted specifically for motorcycles. The system, designed for Harley-Davidson® and custom V-Twin bikes, combines anti-theft and crash detection. According to their website,

Phantom Tracking is the only system to incorporate traditional alarm features such as ignition disablers and
3D movement chipset along with next generation wireless technologies (GSM/GPRS, state of the
art GPS chipset, Bluetooth®, and ZigBee™). With our 24-hour state of the art
monitoring center, we are able to provide instant notification, dispatch,
tracking, and recovery anywhere within North America.

No pricing is shown on the Phantom Tracking website, but a recent message board post cites the cost as being $830 plus a monthly monitoring fee of $13.95. The message reminds readers that insurance discounts may be available for motorcycles with a GPS tracking system installed.

Teensurance GPS tracking goes nationwide

Rich — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 15:23:21 +0000

The insurance firm Safeco announced today the nationwide availability of Teensurance, allowing parents to track where a driver is, how fast they are driving, and the time they arrive at a specific location. The auto tracking system, dubbed “Safety Beacon GPS,” relays data via cellular networks.

Teensurance is available beginning today at an introductory rate of $14.99 per month, which is guaranteed for two years. Safeco is citing a normal rate of $29.99 per month. Installation and emergency roadside assistance is included. Further costs are likely to be incurred with Safety Beacon alerts:

Teensurance subscribers purchase and spend “credits” to enable and receive Safety Beacon™ notifications. For example, you spend one credit each time:

Safety Beacon™ notifies you about an event, such as your vehicle exceeding a speed threshhold or reaching a destination.

You request information from Safety Beacon™—such as your vehicle’s location—from a phone or your account at teensurance.com.

You configure a Safety Beacon feature or turn a feature on or off.

You receive 100 free starter credits when you buy Teensurance. Additional credits must be purchased through your online account. A block of 100 credits costs $29.99.

Other features include stolen vehicle retrieval support and remote door unlock.

Surprisingly, and to their credit, Safeco says they will not use collected individual data, stating that “individuals’ driving data (speed and location notifications) will be available only to parents and teens.”

This is a simple and easy to understand nationwide program; I expect it will prove quite popular.

GPS fleet tracking – who uses it and why

Rich — Mon, 14 May 2007 17:21:52 +0000

I came across an interesting article today about who uses GPS fleet tracking and why they use it. Especially useful is their list of eleven reasons why. It’s easy to see why they say the pay back period on GPS fleet tracking systems is 6-12 months. Here’s a short summary:

Reduced costs due to speeding, excess wear and tear etc.
Improved vehicle maintenance due to automatic reminders
Insurance discounts
Productivity gains
Improved customer service
Better record keeping
Improved ability to analyze trends
Better overtime management
Eliminated the need to track down employees
Improved asset management
Elimination of driver logs

7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals okays surreptitious GPS tracking by police

Rich — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 16:32:57 +0000

On February 2, the 7th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals, ruled against a defendant who claimed that the surreptitious placement of a GPS tracking device amounted to an unconstitutional search. From the court’s decision:

The police had not obtained a warrant authorizing them to place the GPS tracker on the defendant’s car. The district judge, however, found that they had had a reasonable suspicion that the defendant was engaged in criminal activity, and she ruled that reasonable suspicion was all they needed for a lawful search, although she added that they had had probable cause as well. The
defendant argues that they needed not only probable cause to believe that the search would turn up contraband or evidence of crime, but also a warrant. The government argues that they needed nothing because there was no search or seizure within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment.

So the gist of it comes down to this. The fourth amendment protects against unreasonable search and seizure, but the judges ruled that the placement of a GPS tracking device without the suspect’s knowledge, does not qualify as a search of his car.

This is the first time the seventh circuit has weighed in on this issue, which other circuits have split on. The court equated GPS tracking to police physically following a car, or monitoring safety cameras to follow a car, neither of which amounts to illegal search and seizure.

The court did note that wholesale surveillance of the entire population is another matter entirely.

Finally, I did chuckle at this and wonder if the judges really believe that Google Earth allows real time tracking:

But if police follow a car around, or observe its route by means of cameras mounted on lampposts or of
satellite imaging as in Google Earth, there is no search.
Read the full court decision on surreptitious GPS tracking (Case number 06-2741 : USA v. Garcia, Bernardo).

Related post: Does GPS tracking by police amount to an illegal search?

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