Look out for GPS in the car

GPS devices are becoming a key tool which abusers use to control their victims: if you go into a search engine like Google and pull on “track spouse”, “monitor spouse” etc, you will see page after page of entries showing how to monitor someone via GPS.

The logic is rather insidious. Abusers, as we know, are masters of rationalization, and one of their preferred methods is to evince the suspicion that their wives are cheating on them – using an imaginary, delusional “offense” of the victim to justify excessive monitoring of her movements. The ostensible suspicion of cheating is just a pretext for seeking increased control of her. So you will see a lot of “TrackYourCheatingSpouse.com” and so forth, on the internet.

If the abuser is using GPS for this purpose – sticking a device in a car, for example – there really isn’t any way to tell what kind of specific device it is, until you find it. For that reason I will focus on how to find them, rather than how they work. I will point out briefly, however, that GPS devices are essentially small computers, and like computers they need to do two essential things – get electrical power, and store and send data. Some get power from batteries while others piggyback off the car battery; some transmit data actively to a satellite while others are passive, which means the data must be retrieved by the user. Here is how to find a GPS device in your car, ranging from easier to more problematic.

First, the arms-reach system. If the device is passive or battery-powered, the abuser must reach under or into the car and retrieve the device every few days, to swap out the battery or retrieve the geolocational data. He won’t want to open the hood and dig deep into the car every four days – he wants something easier. So look for something attached to a part of the car that is easy to reach: fenders, bumpers, wheel wells etc. This technique, like most of the others on this list, is something you can ask a good mechanic or the local police to help you with.

Second, the electrical system. If the GPS device is piggy-backing off of the car battery, there must be a connection somewhere. Have the mechanic run through the electrical system – the car battery, the fuse box, onboard computers etc – to look for something that isn’t supposed to be there. A dealership that handles your brand of car should be able to tell the most quickly that something new and/or foreign is under the hood.

The RF detector. If the GPS device actively communicates with a satellite, it will emit an RF transmission every 10-30 seconds, which a mechanic can locate if he has RF equipment (RF standing for Radio Frequency).

Tinfoil. I mention this because a number of websites recommend this, but in fact it can be dangerous. If you wrap the GPS device, or its antenna, in foil, it impedes the transmission of the geolocational data. But it also tips off the abuser that you’re messing with the GPS gear. And then you’ve got serious trouble.

GPS jammers. Internet purveyors also recommend these devices, which jam any GPS signals nearby. Very effective, and getting cheaper all the time, but also illegal in the U.S., last time I checked – terrorists have used them to interfere with military and law enforcement authorities, and your jammer could interfere with perfectly legitimate GPS plotting activities nearby. If you plan to be anywhere near a courtroom in the near future, you need a really good reason to deliberately break the law.

Swap cars. Dump the car you have and buy/rent a new one. This technique is obviously more complicated, and it is best used right at the time you’re leaving the abuser: do this too soon and he could just stick a GPS device on the new car, just as he did with the old. Wait too long – in other words, keep your existing car, GPS and all, after you’ve moved to a new location – and he may well figure out what your new location is.

If the abuser is connected to your Onstar account, take him off.

Needless to say, digging around looking for a GPS in your car can be dangerous. Perhaps wait until it’s time to have the car tuned up, and have it searched then, by a pro. Or fake a repair problem that the abuser couldn’t possibly fix.

In addition to counteracting the GPS itself, there is also the option of faking the abuser out. Don’t take a possibly-bugged car anywhere suspicious: have your lawyer or domestic-violence advocate meet you somewhere safely innocuous, borrow someone else’s car, or park somewhere innocuous and then walk to your destination.

The car isn’t the only place he might put a GPS device. Anything you have with you every day – a purse is a good example – is a place he might plant a device. If you’re leaving the abuser, one thing to consider round about that time is -- dump out your purse, look at everything that’s in there, throw out anything you don’t recognize, and get a new purse. He could bug the kids’ stuff too.

Ask your local police department if they know a mechanic who can help find GPS units.

Is GPS monitoring legal? This is an area in which you want to talk to a lawyer, or contact the state Attorney General’s office – some states have, in fact, passed laws saying you can’t put GPS in a car that isn’t yours. Most of the court decisions focus on GPS use by the police – whether they need warrants and so forth – and so far there is little case law pertaining to GPS use by private individuals. My guess (not being a lawyer) is that ownership is a central issue: if the abuser is also the owner of your vehicle, it would not be hard for him to argue that he wants GPS in the car to prevent theft. On the other hand, if you have left the abuser or have a protective order against him, and you have sole ownership or legal possession of the vehicle, it should be easier to argue that he has no business monitoring your movements. Again – talk to a legal guy in your state.