As GPS tracking devices continue becoming smaller, they can be placed more discreetly on to just about anything, including an unsuspecting person’s vehicle. One Texas woman knows this too well.
A few years ago, she noticed that her ex-boyfriend from California kept showing up where she was. It happened too frequently to be coincidental. The kicker was that he consistently had an opened laptop beside him. He seemed to have somehow planted a GPS tracking device to her car.
Her mechanic could not locate the device. Her local police department lacked the technical support to find it. The FBI could not help either. As a last resort, she called Todd Humphreys, an aerospace engineering assistant professor at the University of Texas. He was also unable to assist in locating the GPS tracking device in or attached to her vehicle. His suggestion was to trade vehicles with a friend to try to discourage her ex-boyfriend from continuing to follow her or that she just change vehicles.
Currently, there are not federal statutes addressing the issue of placing a tracking device on a vehicle owned or leased by another person. Many states also have yet to legislate this topic. In Texas, it is a Class A misdemeanor.
Source: http://alcalde.texasexes.org/2012/07/the-gps-dot-friend-or-foe. Illustration by Brown Bird Design