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Dealer-Installed GPS Tracker Leads To Kidnapper's Arrest in Maryland
New submitter FarnsworthG writes A news story about the capture of a kidnapper mentioned that he was caught because a car dealer had secretly installed a GPS device on his car. Apparently this is becoming common for "buy-here-pay-here" dealers. The devices are sold by Spireon, among many others. Raises interesting privacy questions. FarnsworthG also points to this Jalopnik article condemning the practice, when it's done without disclosure. The kidnapping itself, of Philadelphia nursing assistant Carlesha Freeland-Gaither, was captured by a surveillance camera.
I think this is a pretty shady practice, don't get me wrong, but it's not quite as "secretly" as the summary made it out to be.
In the article is the statement:
"McDougall said the customer is required to sign a form acknowledging there's a GPS unit in their vehicle. If the car buyer tries to remove it, the dealer is alerted."
Thus it seems likely maybe the perp was informed about the tracking device.
Now the task is to find a hole deep and dark enough for this vile predator.
There are only so many places where always-on 12V power could be tapped into, and it wouldn't be that difficult for an electronics nerd to figure out what circuit the draw is on by doing a DC amperage test at the fuse panel(s), or to check the few places that could tap into the wiring harness before the fuse panel.
If I didn't find something starting there, I'd pull the front kick-panels, the glove compartment liner, and the lower dash knee bolster on the driver's side, and look for things that don't seem right. Since there are only so many ways to tap into a wire quickly and cheaply, they'd probably use quickconnects of some kind and those would stand out relative to factory wiring. Behind the A-pillars, I'd check the wiring for the trunk light. Just about everything else is switched.
On a really modern vehicle it's even worse in some ways (for the person hiding an accessory) because just about everything, both switches and devices, runs back to the body control module, so one can't really tap off of any of that stuff and must go back to the fuse panel.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
The suspect knew the vehicle was being tracked as he signed a document stating that fact. He just forgot that fact when he kidnapped someone.
I used to work for a company that tracked vehicle fleets. Every driver knew his truck was tracked yet a driver was convicted of murder when his truck was logged near the site where the ex-girlfriend was last seen and near where her body was found. Another vehicle, different client, was noticed stopped far from it's route in a bad neighborhood. The police were sent and the driver was found selling product out of the back of the vehicle.
People are stupid.
PS. I have no problem with installing the tracker with the knowledge of the purchaser.
...Any such devices like this would be removed from any car I buy...
Agreed! But the key work here is 'buy' - the implication being you buy it outright, and are the owner.
On the other hand, if you are financing through the dealer, the RO (registered owner) is the dealer, not you.
If you look at the Spireon tracking company's site, it states the purpose of the tracker:
"Like auto dealers, vehicle finance companies are turning to GPS vehicle tracking in order to offer loans to subprime buyers while minimizing their risk."
Eh, this depends on whether your state subscribes to Title Theory or Lien Theory.
Correct! But either way the financing dealer could:
A. Attach the GPS to protect his/her property (Title)
B. Attach the GPS to secure his/her loan collateral (Lien)
(Here, I admit I haven't read through a car finance contract, but...) I imagine they could stipulate the GPS as part of the loan terms.
I'm sure it makes repo'ing easier.
A car's radio antenna doesn't work at GPS frequencies. That's why cars with GPS always have a separate antenna for it.
How they work is the are hidden under the dash, usually with a Y cable running off the OBD2 port just for the power feed. Just plug and play, about a 5 minute install. The devices cost around $100. For a bit more you can get one with a battery back-up, so if the car is left abandoned, it will signal the dealer the vehicle battery is now dead and here is the location. usually once a day (often 23 hours apart) they send their location, so after a few weeks you know the car's typical location day and night.
Many times the customer is not told at all. It's still a grey area if this is legal since the car is property of the dealer. Once the car is paid off the device (and monthly service charge) is disabled. If the customer is told, it's not made clear what the device is used for. There will be a line in the sales contract saying - your vehicle may include an anti-theft device - That's all. What's not said is the anti-theft device only benefits the dealer, and will be used so the repoman can come pick up your car.
In the dealer defense, buy here - pay here customers are the bottom of the credit barrel and no big name dealer would touch them. They will have 1 or more repossessions, maybe 5 or more accounts in collections, a bunch more of charged off accounts they just gave up on and maybe an eviction from their last apartment. So the dealer knows they don't like to pay for things they buy. There is only about a 50% chance they will actually pay off the car they are buying.