[moga]

A California student got a visit from the FBI this week after he found a secret GPS tracking device on his car, and a friend posted photos of it online. The post prompted wide speculation about whether the device was real, whether the young Arab-American was being targeted in a terrorism investigation and what the authorities would do.
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Afifi considered selling the device on Craigslist before the FBI showed up. He was in his apartment Tuesday afternoon when a roommate told him “two sneaky-looking people†were near his car....The man asked if Afifi knew his registration tag was expired. When Afifi asked if it bothered him, the man just smiled. Afifi got into his car and headed for the parking lot exit when two SUVs pulled up with flashing lights carrying four police officers in bullet-proof vests.

The agent who initially spoke with Afifi identified himself then as Vincent and told Afifi, “We’re here to recover the device you found on your vehicle. It’s federal property. It’s an expensive piece, and we need it right now.â€

Read More http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/1 ... z12jNTfBLV

Brought to you by the liberal Ninth Circuit: diligently taking apart America brick by brick.

 

[1str8shot]

i think there were 2 other threads on this about 3 days ago.

 

[AV8R]

So many more creative things he could have done with that thing.

 

[moga]

i think there were 2 other threads on this about 3 days ago.

My fault. Must have missed it.

 

[commodore_dude]

So many more creative things he could have done with that thing.

Like sticking it on a UPS truck?

 

[EJR914]

If I were him, I'd pay the guys a few extra bucks to check for them every time I went in for an oil change.

I guess they've gotten too lazy to just tail people. Much easier and foolproof to just slap the old GPS on them.

We don't really have any privacy or rights anymore. 1984 was a really great "How To," book.

 

[vr6glidriver]

So many more creative things he could have done with that thing.

Like sticking it on a UPS truck?

...or a Semi, airplane, boat, maybe a firetruck/ambulance .. make them really wonder what you're up to! :shattered:

 

[mountainman444]

...We don't really have any privacy or rights anymore. 1984 was a really great "How To," book.

Exactly. The date was just off a few years.

 

[mountainman444]

So the moral of this story is to QUICKLY smash, stick it to the UPS truck, or dispose of it (bottom of a lake) in some manner. Don't hang on to it.

 

[CoffeeMate]

“We’re here to recover the device you found on your vehicle. It’s federal property. It’s an expensive piece, and we need it right now.â€

Provide proof of ownership.

Then we'll talk rent and cartage charges. The going rate is $1K per mile along with daily surcharges.

What do you mean you retrieved valuable information from it too? That'll cost you extra.

 

[jlw253]

“We’re here to recover the device you found on your vehicle. It’s federal property. It’s an expensive piece, and we need it right now.â€

Unsolicited gift. Done.

 

[GATimberdoodle]

Unsolicited gift. Done.

Yup. An appropriate answer would have been "I don't know you from Adam's house cat, and unless your name is on the transmitter, it's mine until you prove otherwise. AIFTG?!"

“We’re going to make this much more difficult for you if you don’t cooperate.â€

WOW. Maybe he was/is a terrorist. But a U.S. citizen for sure.

The means just cannot justify the ends.

 

[BirdMan]

I'm sure the FBI would be ROTFLTAO if he'd stuck that thing on a vehicle entering a military base. No, he shouldn't have done that.

 

[JiG]

“We’re here to recover the device you found on your vehicle. It’s federal property. It’s an expensive piece, and we need it right now.â€

What? Cant find your tracking device? Did you call the GPS company's tech support? I'd be asking the manufacturer for my money back, sounds like it was defective.

Oh yeah, you're trespassing, get a warrant. Go away revenuers.