What if you discover a GPS tracking device attached to your car?

[k4kyv]

Are you under any obligation not to tamper with it?

What if you take it off and simply place it on a shelf somewhere? Or you toss it in the weeds on the side of the road? You take it apart to see what's inside? You smash it to smithereens with a sledge hammer?

I would be inclined to take it apart, salvage any components I thought I might be able to use, and toss the rest in the trash. Finders keepers, losers weepers.

[flintstone mop]

I would think you are going to be in big trouble, if someone is tracking your every move.

[K5WLF]

As far as I'm concerned, anything anybody puts on my vehicle without my consent belongs to me. I'll tape it to the 10-ring of a target next time I go shooting and video the destruction -- just in case they ever come around asking what happened to it.

[WD8KDG]

Grins & Giggles: Take it to a zoo and feed it to one of the animals

If you haven't noticed cell phones contain a GPS device, how bout OnStar or whatever it is called?

Anyone following me is really bored and has nothing better to do.

Craig,

[KB2WIG]

Wrap it in 'Sn' foil and put in in your freezer.


klc

[steve_qix]

I suppose this begs the question: WHY would someone attach a GPS tracking device to your car, and who would do it??

[flintstone mop]

If it's just a GPS device and it's not reporting back to anyone, "What Me Worry??"

And Sn foil isssssss TIN??

[KB2WIG]

"WHY would someone attach a GPS tracking device to your car, and who would do it?? "


They would do it.

[KZ5A]

I would remove it and attach it to someone else's car, or maybe an 18 wheeler. 

73 Jack KZ5A

[Bill, KD0HG]

I would remove it and attach it to a school bus.

[KA2DZT]

I would remove it and attach it to a school bus.

Exactly what I was going to say.

Private dicks working for lawyers trying to find where people work so they can garnish their wages to pay debts.

[WA3VJB]

Interesting topic.

I've covered two news stories in recent years where GPS tracking devices were used by law enforcement without the knowledge of the target.

Most recently, a case where the target was told about the device when he took his car in for maintenance. It was removed and handed to his lawyer:
FBI Sued for Warrantless GPS Surveillance of California Muslim
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cair-fbi-sued-for-warrantless-gps-surveillance-of-calif-muslim-117251848.html


In another case, in Virginia, a defendant lost his appeal of a conviction in a sex attack, unsuccessfully arguing that the secret use by police of a GPS attached to his work van to establish his travel patterns during the day, outweighed the fact police then observed an attack taking place.

He contended that the officers’ failure to obtain a search warrant prior to attaching the GPS device required that any evidence obtained through the use of that device, including the testimony of the officers who observed him attack the victim, be suppressed under the exclusionary rule.

http://www.courts.state.va.us/opinions/opncavwp/0521094.pdf

No wonder authorities are very keen to interdict GPS and cellphone jamming devices.

[WA1GFZ]

Gee I live a boring life so go for it track me.
Make sure you get the car and truck so you don't miss anything

[kb3ouk]

i'd attach it to a cat or some other animal that travels around a lot. or better yet, feed it to a goat.

[Carl WA1KPD]

Gee I live a boring life so go for it track me.
Make sure you get the car and truck so you don't miss anything

Frank,
I'd put it on our friend the hawk. "Mr Rte 20"

[K6JEK]

So many good ideas. I would want to put it on something that cruised around the really bad parts of town at night, preferably.

Isn't this question being taken up the Supreme Court right now?  Does attaching a GPS to a suspect's vehicle without a warrant constitute unlawful search and seizure.

[kb3ouk]

or attach it to a cop car.

[The Slab Bacon]

since I am not doing anything to worry about, I would prolly leave it there until the right opportunity comes along to have a little fun with it. When the right opportunity came along, I would stick it onto something that would give them a run for their money and me a good giggle.................. Like a cop car or even better, a trash truck.

Like Frank said, if they were tracking me, it would be pretty boring and not worth their effort. I wouldn't get too upset if there was ome on my trick, as long as I knew it was there.

[k4kyv]

Isn't this question being taken up the Supreme Court right now?  Does attaching a GPS to a suspect's vehicle without a warrant constitute unlawful search and seizure.

Yes, it is.  They just agreed to take the case and had a preliminary hearing on it a few days ago.

Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies want to be able to plunk one onto anyone's vehicle at any time for any reason, without any kind of court-issued warrant.  But if they have reasonable suspicion that someone is engaged in unlawful activity, aka "probable cause", how much of an inconvenience would it be to have a judge issue a warrant?

The Fourth Amendment was put there for a reason. I don't go along with that "nothing to worry about if I have nothing to hide/have done nothing wrong" crap I hear so often these days.

[The Slab Bacon]

Like many others I am very particular about my privacy (or anyone trying to invade it without my consent)

To those that I let in close I dont keep any secrets, to those that I dont, I stay as much of an enigma as I can. Short, sweet, and simple!!

to those that are willing to give up their privacy in the interest of
"public safety" or anything else are fools! Short, sweet, and simple.
Too many have fought and died to protect those rights.

Like I said in an earlier post, finding a tracking device on my vehicle would not upset me as bad as wondering WHY it was put there. I would leave it there for a short while before having a little fun with it. All of our company owned trucks have them to keep the technicians honest. they have definately uncovered some interesting things. But my truck is owned by me, so they have no say in what I do with it.

If you are using a company owned vehicle for your job, dont be surprised if you find one on it. Many companies now do it for insurance purposes if nothing else.

If my insurance company asked me to put them on my personal vehicles, I would tell them to go pound sand just for the principle of it.

[WA1GFZ]

Yup Frank I would leave it there until I thought up a good prank to pull the tracker out of hiding to make a fool of them.
Carl, My luck our buddy would drop it on my car

[The Slab Bacon]

Yup Frank I would leave it there until I thought up a good prank to pull the tracker out of hiding to make a fool of them.

Like sticking it on a trash truck..................   

[W7TFO]

Maybe get one of your Russki buddies take it to the ISS and set it outside....

73DG

[KC2ZFA]

BEWARE. "They" know that someone's real name here is سﻻبي بيكون

[W0BTU]

1. Remove it.
2. Wrap it in aluminum foil to disable it.
3. Park the car somewhere with two hidden, motion-activated video surveillance cameras pointing at the car, running 24/7.

Someone is going to come looking at why the GPS device quit, and you'll find out who that someone was by playing back the video.

UPDATE:
An alternative motive might be to see when a person leaves, so they can burglarize the place. In that case, have someone else drive the car somewhere, while the law enforcement officers watch from the shadows with weapons ready. :-)