I Found a Tracker on My Car: What to Do

GPS tracking devices are used for many things, from employers to keep track of company vehicles to parents to monitor their teen drivers, but GPS trackers can also be used illegally. If you think someone is using a GPS tracker to track you without your consent or you found a hidden GPS tracker in your car, there are a few things you can do to stay safe.

Key Points:

1. Safety First: Call the police or a lawyer if you feel threatened.
2. It’s Illegal: It’s illegal to put a tracker on someone else’s car without their consent.
3. Sweep: Do a visual and electronic sweep to find the tracker.
4. Get Help: If you can’t find it get professional help.
5. Disable and Report: Disable it and report if needed

GPS Trackers

What is a GPS Tracking Device?

A GPS tracking device is a small electronic device that uses the Global Positioning System (GPS) to track and monitor a vehicle, person or object in real time. These devices are used for many purposes such as fleet management, vehicle tracking and personal safety. GPS tracking devices can be battery powered or hardwired into a vehicle’s electrical system. They send data to a server or a mobile device through cellular networks or satellite communication to get continuous location updates.

Types of GPS Trackers

There are many types of GPS trackers:

• Battery powered GPS trackers: These portable devices can be installed in a vehicle or carried by a person. Used for personal safety and vehicle tracking.
• Hardwired GPS trackers: Installed directly into a vehicle’s electrical system. Used for fleet management and vehicle tracking.
• Plug and play GPS trackers: These user-friendly devices can be plugged into a vehicle’s OBD-II port. Used for vehicle tracking and diagnostics.
• Real time GPS trackers: These devices give real time location data so you can track a vehicle or person instantly.
• Passive GPS trackers: These trackers store location data which can be downloaded later. Used for tracking vehicles or assets over long periods.

Why Someone Would Put a Tracker on Your Car

There are many reasons why someone would put a tracker on your car:

• To track your location and movements without your knowledge or consent.
• To monitor your driving habits and behavior.
• To recover a stolen vehicle.
• To track a vehicle for insurance or fleet management purposes.

Knowing these reasons will help you assess the situation and what to do if you found a tracker on your car.

Before You Do Anything Else, Be Safe

Your safety should be your number one priority as you figure out what to do. Our first recommendation will always be to call the police or a lawyer if you feel you’re being stalked or threatened. Trying to take matters into your own hands can be dangerous and being safe should be your first consideration.

Legal Issues

If you know or suspect there is a GPS tracking device on your vehicle that’s tracking you, here are a few things to think about:

1. First, do you own the vehicle you’re driving or someone else? GPS trackers can be installed in a vehicle by the owner but it’s illegal to install a GPS tracker in someone else’s vehicle without their consent.
2. Second, who put the tracker in the vehicle? If you find one in the car it may not be tracking or may have belonged to the previous owner of your vehicle.
3. Third, we recommend you call the police before you disable or remove the GPS tracker if you feel you’re in danger. Disabling or removing a tracker will alert the person who put it to your discovery which can put you in more danger. It’s better to have protection on your side.

Check out our popular article on GPS Tracking Laws so you can determine if your situation is a privacy violation. In most cases the law is on your side if someone is stalking you.

We recommend you talk to your lawyer for any other legal questions. We can point you in the right direction but we don’t give legal advice to customers.

How to sweep your vehicle for a GPS tracker

If you suspect there’s an unauthorized tracker in your vehicle but you haven’t found it yet, doing a quick sweep of the vehicle will confirm your suspicions. There are a few types of sweeps you can do to find the device. Using a GPS bug detector is a great tool to find hidden GPS trackers in vehicles.

Step 1: Visual Sweep

A visual sweep is the first step as there are only a few places a GPS tracker can be placed in a vehicle. Here are the most common places a tracking device might be:

Plugged into the diagnostic port under the dashboard: Many GPS trackers get power from the vehicle and will be plugged into the car directly. These are the easiest to disable as they can simply be unplugged to be disabled.

Under bumpers or in wheel wells: Since these areas are accessible to anyone standing outside the vehicle, these are likely places someone will put a GPS tracker if they don’t have direct access to the interior of the vehicle. Do a visual check of these areas.

Under the vehicle: There are many places under the vehicle where a magnetic GPS tracking case can be mounted discreetly. Most GPS trackers are small box-like devices with a magnetic side. This sweep may be a bit more difficult to do as it requires the vehicle to be lifted. You may need professional help with this kind of sweep.

Inside the vehicle: There are many places to hide inside a vehicle. Battery powered trackers can be easily concealed in areas like seat cushions, trunk and other compartments. We recommend a visual check under seats, in the glove box and console, inside of seat cushions or seat back pockets and inside speaker compartments. You may want to have a professional do this sweep for you as well because there are many places to hide a GPS tracker out of sight.

Learn about GPS tracker placement and use.

• how to find a hidden GPS tracker
• where to place a GPS tracker

Step 2: Electronic Sweep

If your visual sweep didn’t turn up anything, you can take it to the next level by using a GPS detecting device to sweep your vehicle. A GPS device will help you find hidden trackers. We have several devices for this purpose.

Step 3: Get Professional Help

If you’ve gone through all your options to find a hidden GPS tracking device, we recommend seeking professional help, if you haven’t already. Many auto repair shops will have professional resources available or know someone they can refer you to to help you sweep, find and disable the device you think is in your vehicle.

Where to Find the GPS Tracker

Places to Check

• Under the dashboard or center console: Easy to access and can hide a small tracker.
• In the glove compartment or trunk: Plenty of space to hide a GPS tracker out of sight.
• Under the seats or floor mats: Often overlooked, great place to hide a tracker.
• In the wheel wells or bumpers: Accessible from outside the vehicle, easy to put a GPS tracker without interior access.
• Underneath the vehicle, attached to the frame or suspension: A magnetic GPS tracking case can be mounted here.
• In the diagnostic port (OBD-II port): Some GPS trackers can plug directly into the vehicle’s diagnostic port for power and data transmission.

Check these areas thoroughly to find a hidden GPS tracker. Using a bug detector or GPS tracker detector will also help you find hidden spots you may have missed.

Disable the Device

If the device is found, the next step is to disable it or if you feel you are in danger, report it. Using a GPS blocker is a good way to disable a GPS tracking device in a vehicle. There’s complexity in disconnecting wired car trackers safely. Check out our article on how to disable a GPS tracker.

Is There an App for This?

At the moment, there’s no app for detecting and finding GPS trackers. We recommend professional counter-surveillance GPS detection tools for this purpose.

Conclusion

Don’t worry: The most important thing to do in this situation is to protect yourself, so get help from the police or a lawyer.

In most cases it’s easy to resolve. If you have more questions about your concern, you can also contact our customer support team to learn more about finding, disabling and removing unwanted trackers from your vehicle.