Two New Fed GPS Trackers Found On SUV

jcombel writes with this excerpt: "As the Supreme Court gets ready to hear oral arguments in a case Tuesday that could determine if authorities can track U.S. citizens with GPS vehicle trackers without a warrant, a young man in California has come forward to Wired to reveal that he found not one but two different devices on his vehicle recently. The 25-year-old resident of San Jose, California, says he found the first one about three weeks ago on his Volvo SUV while visiting his mother in Modesto, about 80 miles northeast of San Jose. After contacting Wired and allowing a photographer to snap pictures of the device, it was swapped out and replaced with a second tracking device. A witness also reported seeing a strange man looking beneath the vehicle of the young man’s girlfriend while her car was parked at work, suggesting that a tracking device may have been retrieved from her car. Then things got really weird when police showed up during a Wired interview with the man."

Comments

Police Ssurveillance

[MyLongNickName]

A serious question, one that I hope folks take seriously because I truly cannot answer this:

If you were in front of the US Supreme Court and they asked you how this is fundamentally different than tracking your car through traditional police surveillance, how would you answer?

I struggle for an answer myself. It feels wrong, but as far as I can tell that isn't a valid legal argument.

Re:Police Ssurveillance

[berashith]

I had been under the impression that there were rules limiting this once, until I was under investigation. The rub was this ... I wasnt really under investigation. If I was, then there would have been a warrant. There was not enough information to get a warrant on me, so the ATF was digging around watching every move I made, trying to figure out what the hell I was up to. The funny bit here is that I was up to nothing, and had to keep proving it.

I thought that the agent couldnt just sit and watch my house all the time, and he kind of confirmed that, but if I had gone to a movie, he would miraculously appear at my door as I was walking down the sidewalk. This was consistent, and it was obvious what he was doing, but if I questioned him he would give me a line about just happening to show up at the same time. This came complete with a smart ass smirk. So , I never was certain what the rules were, but I knew that I couldnt really get away from the game. The fact of the matter is ( at that time, way pre-9/11) , if the government has a reason to be suspicious they will be. You will have to prove yourself. The way I saw it then is that the system worked, even if it was a bit one sided and crooked.

Re:Police Ssurveillance

[Crudely_Indecent]

I found one of these devices in a used car I purchased. The only reason I found it was because of some electrical issues I was having. Upon tracing the electrical issue I found the device (poorly) wired into the electrical system causing an intermittent short. After removing the device, and fixing the wiring harness - I showed it to my family who admitted that maybe my paranoia had some validity.

I've still got the device. I use it to win arguments against people who say the government doesn't do these sorts of things. Now that this is in the news, I guess I won't be having those arguments anymore.

Re:Police Ssurveillance

[travisd]

Or, more likely, your car had previously been sold thru a "Buy Here, Pay Here" type predatory dealership. They frequently use remote-shutdown devices to remotely disable vehicles of people who don't make their monthly payments. Another option is it was a poorly installed alarm. From all accounts, the GPS trackers that are being seen have plenty of on-board battery to not need any connection to the vehicle wiring. Post more details (like pics of the circuits) and I bet someone can tell you exactly what the device actually does...

Americans fear their government

[bazmail]

Americans fear their government more now than at any time in history. Kind of funny if your from foreignland.

No problem

[mr1911]

If you find a device like this on your car, have fun with it. Ship it across country - the government will know where the UPS guy is. Smash it open to see what is inside. Sell it on eBay. Report it to your local Sheriff as a suspicious device.

Seriously though...
Having cops follow you around to make their presence known is one hell of a way to use a covert surveillance device. The story isn't quite adding up.

Simple solution to dealign with these trackers

[Jailbrekr]

1) Find a place where trains pass somewhat slowly
2) Wait for slow moving train
3) Stick tracker on outside of train car

Re:Welcome to the world of police intimidation

[Spykk]

I think you are mistaken. The only thing that police could accomplish by intentionally trying to intimidate a reporter without being explicit enough to threaten him is to make the story that much jucier. Do you really believe that the officer brought a gas can and someone in civilian clothes along to go intimidate a reporter? He was likely giving someone who had run out of gas a ride and the reporter chose to interperet the encounter as some sort of nebulous conspiracy to get some publicity for the story.

Could a cop hide in the boot too?

[pipedwho]

Would it be ok if a cop hid in the boot of your car without a warrant instead?

Are there any GPS scanners?

[Oswald McWeany]

Are there any scanning devices to scan your car to see if you have one of these hidden somewhere?

I'm sure you can do a thorough search from time to time- but if I want to know if I have one- is there a device I can buy to scan my car that isn't expensive?

I suspect all the bad guys who are really trying to hide will just run GPS blockers on their cars.

Re:You wish you were this guy

[rsmith-mac]

From TFA:

It's unclear if authorities obtained a warrant to track Gregâ(TM)s vehicle

Nowhere in the article does it say they don't have a warrant, merely that Wired doesn't know. Surveillance warrants don't require informing the suspect.