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Man Stalks Ex-girlfriend With GPS

grouchomarxist writes "According to this article at CNN: Police arrested a man they said tracked his ex-girlfriend's whereabouts by attaching a global positioning system to her car. Police said Gabrielyan attached a cellular phone to the woman's car on August 16 with a motion switch that turned on when the car moved, transmitting a signal each minute to a satellite. Information was then sent to a Web site that allowed Gabrielyan to monitor the woman's location." A ruling last year stated that police need a warrant to track individuals in a similar fashion.

11 of 415 comments (clear)

  1. Perfect metaphor by cgenman · · Score: 5, Insightful

    >The woman learned how Gabrielyan was following her when she discovered him under her car attempting to change the cell phone's battery, police said.

    This is a perfect metaphor for the 21 century... Hyped futuristic capabilities with obvious and forgotten shortcomings. 12v line from the power system, anyone?

    If you are going to be compulsively obsessed to the exclusion of all else, at least sweat the details.

  2. Re:WOW - this guy had a SATELLITE too? by josecanuc · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The article also mentions that the data is sent over a cellular telephone (changing the batter of which is apparently how the guy was found out).

    So this must mean that the media thinks that cellular phones communicate with satellites. One wonders what they think of all those towers that have been going up for decades...

  3. You again by MikeMacK · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Police said Gabrielyan tracked the 35-year-old woman, who was not identified, after she ended their relationship, showing up unexpectedly at a book store, an airport and dozens of other places where she was.

    Dozens? After about the first six she should have gotten a restraining order.

  4. Hopefully ppl will understand now why privacy... by jbash · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...is so important. There are LEGITIMATE REASONS to not want to have a tracking device in your car, not just tinfoil hat paranoia. Sure there may be "privacy protections" but keep in mind that a company's privacy is only as strong as the minimum wage employee who's bribed $100 to let a stalker have some info.

  5. It's Funny.... by darkmeridian · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Every time I read one of these stories of a guy wigging out because his girlfriend dumped him, I always think, "Hey, Chief, do ya think she was on to something?" I mean, girl dumps boy. Boy stalks her using GPS. Maybe she was onto something in dumping him?

    --
    A NYC lawyer blogs. http://www.chuangblog.com/
  6. Re:This is exactly why... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Actually this proves beyond a shadow of doubt that he's an idiot. He would have attached the phone into the car headlights/parking lights for recharging if he were a real geek!

    Instead he get's caught trying to change a battery... Stupid.

  7. What if it was your wife, though? by Myrrh · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This got me wondering, though. What if, for example, I was to do something like this to my wife's car? I own the car, right? So I should be able to modify it (within safety concerns of course) how I see fit.

    Not that I'm saying I'd stalk my own wife, or anything. I'm just wondering what makes stalking one's girlfriend fundamentally different than stalking, say, one's wife.

  8. Re:How is this different that widespread surveilla by lee7guy · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They also arrest and execute criminals.

    No civilized governments do that. Civilized governments arrest and prosecute criminals. Then according to what fits the bill best, they fine, jail or give them proper psychological treatment.

    Do you live in some barbaric third world country where torture and imprisonment without fair trials are still part of the legal system too?

    --
    Ceterum censeo Microsoftem esse delendam
  9. Re:Where can I buy a mobile phone detector? by Glasswire · · Score: 4, Insightful

    She didnt say she didn't have a boyfriend, she said she wanted to know where you could get one that would care where she was. Clearly she has a boyfriend whose trust in her she interprets as indifference.

    Too bad.

  10. Re:Where can I buy a mobile phone detector? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Here's a hint: next time a guy takes the time to get to know you and is actually a nice guy, don't brush him off with the 'I see you as a friend' routine while you fall in love with the first unemployed alcoholic that crosses your path.

  11. Re:How is this different that widespread surveilla by stor · · Score: 4, Insightful

    An eye for a fucking eye.

    "An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind." --Ghandi

    Cheers
    Stor

    --
    "Yeah well there's a lot of stuff that should be, but isn't"