New technology enables domestic abusers to track location and record sound and images
- By Lisa Aronson Fontes, PhD
- Aug 07, 2024
Technology enables abusers to track their victims through their cars in several ways. In many states, such tracking is considered illegal stalking, cyberstalking, or electronic surveillance. But abusers are doing it, anyway.
Filming the Car’s Surroundings
Some newer model cars have factory-installed cameras with monitoring and recording options in 360 degrees around a car. These work even when the car is off. The recordings may be stored automatically on a USB drive or monitored in real time from a distance. Such recording capability can be installed in any car after purchase, turning any vehicle into a powerful spying system.
Years after their divorce, Carrie still had a full restraining order prohibiting her teenage sons’ father from contacting her in any way. She was distressed when her son drove home one day in his dad’s brand new Tesla. She thought her ex wanted to stick in her face that he had money for an expensive new car while she was struggling to pay the rent.
When Carrie asked her son why he was driving his dad’s car, he shrugged and said that his father had insisted that he park it in his mom’s driveway right by her door. This made Carrie suspicious.
Searching on the Internet, Carrie found out that the Tesla has a Sentry feature enabling it to record action anywhere around the car. Her ex-husband appeared to be using the car itself to monitor her home.
In Carrie’s case, the solution was simple. She forbade her son from parking his father’s car by her house. But she might not have even noticed if the car had been parked across the street, and if she hadn’t known that it belonged to her ex-husband.
General Location Tracking Devices
Abusers may also use small tracking devices, such as AirTags, to find and track their victims.
When Latoya and her boyfriend broke up, she discovered that he had sewn AirTags into her purse, backpack, jackets and lunch bag and had hidden one in her car. This stalking behavior started during their relationship.
“He kept showing up at places I didn’t expect him to be. If I went to work and decided to go to the store at the last minute, he would suddenly be there. The warnings didn’t show up because he had drugged me to use my fingerprints to get into my phone account. He set up the AirTags to link my location to his phone, not mine. After we separated, I got a confidential address, and he instantly knew where I was.”
Seventeen states ban the use of tracking devices without the consent of the person being tracked. Another nine states specifically ban their use in motor vehicles.
GPS Monitoring through Car-Specific Systems
GPS stands for Global Positioning System—a network of satellites that provide location information. GPS can be linked to many common devices such as laptop computers, smartphones and car navigation systems. For many people today, GPS has replaced maps and verbal directions for figuring out how to get to a new place.
However, GPS also provides opportunities for abusers to monitor their victims. An abuser who has had access to your phone or phone plan can track your location through your phone. An abuser who is or was involved with the purchase, care or maintenance of your car may be linked to the car’s navigation system. Some abusers simply call car dealers, asking to be allowed to track the car. This access may be granted, no questions asked.
Car-Tracking with a Fatal Outcome
Attorney Nick Brand represents the families of two young people, Sara Beck, 22, and Mikey Williamson, 20. They were killed in 2022 by Beck’s ex-boyfriend who apparently tracked her through a tiny hidden device that revealed the location of her car in real time. The ex-boyfriend had never reportedly been violent before. But he seemingly could not accept that Beck had moved on and was thriving without him. He allegedly tracked her car across state lines to a friend’s home before killing her, her friend and himself. The father of one of the victims, Desmond Theel, commented in a newspaper interview, “The police have to have a warrant in order to do that to somebody. Now, we got the general public just doing it.”
The families of both victims are suing the device’s manufacturer. “By the time you find these products it’s too late, you’ve already suffered the harm,” says attorney Brand. The legal complaint states that the device is “negligently, recklessly, and intentionally designed for the purpose of covertly tracking unsuspecting individuals.”
The complaint further notes that the device is waterproof and smaller than a cell phone. The complaint suggests that the device and its app are “designed to track nonconsenting and unsuspecting people while being affixed covertly to their vehicles.”
Voice Recorders in Cars
For the price of a movie and popcorn, a person can buy a voice-activated mini-tracker that will record a conversation inside the car as well as its location. Some of these are the size of a thumbnail, can work for days with one charge and can be accessed from a distance. Some can be charged from the car electronics. These devices can be used in places other than cars. Abusers may think that cars are ideal for recording conversations because people tend to speak freely on their phones and to each other when they are alone in a car. It is illegal in many states to record a person without their knowledge, especially in a place where privacy is assumed, such as a car.
What Can You Do?
If you believe you’re being monitored, recorded, stalked or threatened by an abusive partner, consider the following steps:
Contact your local domestic violence agency to set up a safety plan and for advice around protective orders. Ask for advice for detecting whether you are being monitored through your car.
Scan your surroundings for cameras and listening devices. This (rather macho) video demonstrates how to scan a car for hidden devices. This article also provides information for inspecting homes and vehicles. Free apps can detect spying devices that use wi-fi. However, most vehicle spying devices do not use wi-fi. They may have their own storage or use satellites instead. And some advertise ways to evade detection, such as the Q & A section for this device.
Contact a dealership. If your car has a navigation system, drive to a dealership and find out who has access to the navigation system. If you cannot get the abuser off the plan, you may be able to disable the navigation system altogether. The same is true for factory-installed cameras.
Call 911. If you feel in danger, don’t hesitate to call 911. This is especially important if the abuser has made suicidal threats, threats to harm you or the children, or has access to a gun. Your local police may be willing to inspect your vehicle for spying devices, especially if you can provide some evidence that supports your fears, such as threats.
Keep a log of all stalking incidents. Record dates, times and what happened. While one or two “chance” encounters may seem like a coincidence, repeated encounters may suggest that you are being tracked.
File for an order of protection. Localities vary in how hard or easy it might be to obtain one, and local police vary in how much they enforce them. Your local domestic violence agency should be able to help.
It is disturbing to think that the person who abused you might use your vehicle to monitor and track you. But unfortunately, some abusers pose a high risk to their victims, especially after a recent separation. For more information, read “How to Protect Yourself from Post-Separation Abuse.”
Content retrieved from: https://www.domesticshelters.org/articles/identifying-abuse/abusers-are-monitoring-and-spying-on-victims-through-their-cars.