Court Order Doesn't Stop Man from Eavesdropping & GPS Tracking

NY - An area man has been arrested for allegedly installing a GPS device in order to eavesdrop and spy on a person who has an order of protection against him.

Dutchess County resident Brett M. Marinaccio, 33, of Hopewell Junction, was arrested on Monday, Jan. 4, by New York State Police, said Trooper AJ Hicks.

According to Hicks, an investigation determined Marinaccio utilized hidden GPS tracking devices with audio capabilities to eavesdrop (similar to this) on the victim while an order of protection was in place issued by the Dutchess County Family Court to protect the victim. more

Verizon Launches Hyper-Precise GPS Location Technology

Verizon launched its Hyper Precise Location using Real Time Kinematics (RTK), a location technology that provides location accuracy within 1-2 centimeters, on the Verizon network. 

Verizon has built and deployed RTK reference stations nationwide to provide pinpoint level accuracy to RTK compatible internet of things (IoT) devices. RTK will also support emerging technologies that depend on high level location accuracy such as delivery drones and customer-approved location data for first responders during emergencies...Additionally, the rollout of hyper-precise location services paired with Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband (UWB) network and 5G Edge, will pave the way for more autonomous technologies. more

GPS Tracker – World’s Smallest and More

A GPS tracker can be incredibly small. Once the size of bricks some can now fit on your finger.

New features have arrived, too. Some have…

• SOS buttons
• Audio eavesdropping capability
• Integration with Google Maps
• Speed reporting
• Geo-fencing with automatic alerts
• Disable vehicle
• Updates every five seconds
• Wireless recharging
• Worldwide coverage
• Bluetooth – for tracking the last few feet

read more

Santa and Cuebiq Know if You've Been Naughty or Nice

After Memorial Day, as the United States began to reopen, coronavirus cases began to rise...

For the Fourth of July weekend, a new analysis of cell phone data suggests even more people hit the road among 10 coronavirus hotspots, despite warnings from health experts.

The analysis comes from data shared with CNN by Cuebiq, one of the private companies that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses to track general movement in the United States. 

Cuebiq gets its data when people download apps on their phones and opt into anonymous location data tracking. The company's full data set includes 15 million phones nationwide. more

Five Mile GPS Tracker Doesn't Require Cellular Service

GoFindMe is a real-time GPS tracker that works without cell service. By built-in GPS & long-range radio technology, it allows you to stay in touch with people even if your phone fails by rich handy features such as:
 -Real time location tracking
 -Send & receive texts, built-in voice and GPS coordinates
 -One-button emergency SOS
 -Automatic trace record
 -Sync up group activity
 -Set customized safe zone
 -Pin meeting place or home base
 -Mesh network to extend connectivity range
more


But what if you can't find it when you need it?

GPS Cyberstalking of Girlfriend Brings Indictment for Alleged Mobster

20 supposed wiseguys charged because one was possessive...

Joseph Amato's attempt to surveil his girlfriend by attaching a hidden GPS device to her car led authorities to surveil the alleged mobster, and ultimately to his indictment by a grand jury...

"In November 2016, a GPS tracking device was found on an MTA bus in Staten Island during a routine maintenance inspection: it had been hidden in an oil pan," the government's detention memo states. "In fact, Joseph Amato had purchased the device to place a girlfriend, identified herein as Jane Doe, under close surveillance and used the tracking device in an attempt to maintain control over her."...

...after Jane Doe discovered the GPS tracker on her car and removed it. The detention memo suggests she placed it on an MTA bus to thwart Amato's surveillance. more

GPS Tracker Bugs Kids... about 600,000 of them.

Serious security flaws in GPS trackers manufactured by a Chinese company have been found to expose location data of nearly 600,000 children and elderly, according to researchers from cybersecurity firm Avast.

T8 Mini GPS Tracker Locator

The researchers spotted the vulnerabilities in the T8 Mini GPS tracker and nearly 30 other models by the same manufacturer, Shenzhen i365 Tech.

...these devices expose all data sent to the Cloud, including exact real-time GPS coordinates, showed the findings revealed last week.

Further, design flaws can enable unwanted third-parties to spoof the location or access the microphone for eavesdropping.

The researchers estimate that there are about 600,000 of these unprotected trackers in use globally that are using the very generic default password of "123456". more

From Those Wonderful Emperors of Espionage...

A popular GPS tracker used as a panic alarm for elderly people and to monitor children's whereabouts can be hacked to spy on users, researchers have warned.

The white-label location tracker, manufactured in China, is rebranded and sold by multiple UK companies - including Pebbell 2 by HoIP Telecom , OwnFone Footprint , and SureSafeGo.

"There were no signs from the device when this was activated or when you called in, turning this device issued to vulnerable people into a remote listening bug,” said Fidus.

"This issue teamed with the location tracking abilities of the device allows you to conceive some pretty scary potential use cases."

The researchers also found it was possible to remotely reset the GPS tracker without needing a PIN, and kill signal to the device altogether, rendering it effectively useless.

Fidus estimates that there are at least 10,000 of these devices in use in the UK, and thousands more around the world.

The team has informed several of the device makers about the flaws, but there is no way to fix the vulnerabilities without recalling every device. more

The Surprising Cost of a GPS Tracking & Cellular Eavesdropping Bug

As described on eBay...

Ultra Mini GF-07 GPS Long Standby Magnetic SOS Tracking Device for Vehicle/Car/Person Location Tracker Locator System Anti-lost Device 

Features:
1. Small size and light weight, easy for carry.

2. Black shell, easy to hide, perfect for tracking vehicles, teens, spouses, elderly persons or assets. With two powerful magnets inside, easy to attach to vehicle firmly, no extra installation need.

3. All you need is a working SIM card (NOT included!) to insert into the device, then you can track and map (with Google Maps) in real-time over the Internet.

4. Dial SIM card number, then you can hear voice around this tracker, with no light and no noise, you can monitoring and spy what's going on around the tracker silently and secretly.

5. Voice Recording Function: Send text message 555 to SIM card number, it will reply a message “Snd” and start recording, SIM card and TF card are not included.

 

Electronic surveillance devices, like this one, are flooding into the country. Below is just one of the many ads on eBay alone. At these prices (as low as $11.99, and cheaper from the China and Hong Hong listings) they are throwaway items. Set it and forget it. No need to risk retrieving it to recharge the battery. 

Businesses especially need to be concerned. Imagine competitors tracking your sales people, delivery trucks, or your top executives. Learn more about these types of devices and what you can do about them.

Click to enlarge.

Questions We Get - Cell Phone Location Data

"I want to know is whether your location can be tracked if your location based services are turned off?" - from an attorney who reported on the selling of cell phone location data to bounty hunters. more

Good question. The answer is yes.

The information the phone companies are selling is gathered from the phone's administration communications with the cell sites, "Hi. I'm here. I can accept a call." The signal is picked up from multiple cell sites and is evaluated to determine which site is receiving the strongest signal.

Location is determined by triangulation. While not precise, it can get you into the neighborhood.

If they were using the phone's GPS-based location services the location accuracy would be within a few yards. ~Kevin

Spybuster Tip #720 - iPhone Knows What You Did Last Summer... and how to stop it.

Your iPhone knows where you go and how often.

The feature is called Significant Locations, and it is buried deep within iPhone's reptilian brain. 

Want a peak?

• Open Settings
• Open Privacy
• Open Location Services
• Scroll to the very end and open System Services
• Keep scrolling until you hit Significant Locations
• At this point, you will need to sign in again.

If the feature hasn't been turned off, prepare for an eye opening surprise.

Significant Locations may include the locations of, and frequency of visits to, significant others, whom you would rather not have your other significant others know about. 

Or, if you are an investigator, it just might help you crack a case!

~Kevin

File Under: You Can't Do That in the Private Sector

UK - A former Royal Marine carried out body searches on his girlfriend, placed bugging devices in her bedroom and installed a tracking device on her mobile phone due to his paranoia over her alleged infidelity.

In the first conviction of coercive and controlling behaviour offences secured at Grimsby Crown Court, Lee Jensen received a 12-month suspended sentence.

The prosecutor said bugging devices were concealed under cushions in her bedroom by Jensen, so he could listen to her. He subjected her to body checks. He prevented her from visiting her own GP.

After the relationship ended he made "futile threats to burn her house down". more sing-a-long

Richard Simmons: P.I. Who Allegedly Planted Bugging Device Charged

The private investigator who allegedly planted a tracking device on Richard Simmons' car has been charged with a crime.

Scott Brian Matthews was charged with 2 counts of the crime of unlawfully using a tracking device.

Prosecutors say Matthews planted the device on the car Richard bought for his housekeeper, Teresa Reveles. They say he planted it so he could shadow Simmons and see if he was going to doctors or hospitals. more

New Jersey: Wiretap, Spycam & GPS Tracking Laws

This is an excellent article covering phone recording, video surveillance and GPS tracking in New Jersey...

As technology rapidly advances and becomes more sophisticated, attorneys, litigants and the courts must grapple with the use of modern surveillance in the context of litigation in family matters.

Surveillance can be useful in some situations, and litigants often resort to surveillance of their spouse to gather what they perceive to be valuable evidence. That evidence, whether it be video footage, recorded telephone calls, GPS tracking, digital copies of hard drives or other forms of surveillance, may be used at trial or simply to gain leverage in settlement negotiations. Nevertheless, this type of activity does not come without risk.

Without careful guidance and an understanding of the legal implications, surveillance can place attorneys in jeopardy of legal or ethical violations, and could also undermine the client’s position (e.g., something of limited evidential value could backfire on the client).

This article explores three surveillance techniques and analyzes the risks and rewards of each. more

For Sale: Your Whereabouts

Verizon and AT&T have promised to stop selling their mobile customers' location information to third-party data brokers following a security problem that leaked the real-time location of US cell phone users.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) recently urged all four major carriers to stop the practice, and today he published responses he received from Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile USA, and Sprint.

Wyden's statement praised Verizon for "taking quick action to protect its customers' privacy and security," but he criticized the other carriers for not making the same promise.

"After my investigation and follow-up reports revealed that middlemen are selling Americans' location to the highest bidder without their consent or making it available on insecure Web portals, Verizon did the responsible thing and promptly announced it was cutting these companies off," Wyden said. "In contrast, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint seem content to continuing to sell their customers' private information to these shady middle men, Americans' privacy be damned." more

Woman Faces 4 Years in Jail, in Siberia, for GPS-Tracking Her Partner

Russia - A woman is facing up to four years in jail after trying to spy on her husband using a hidden GPS tracking and recording device.

The 33-year-old resident of Russia’s Siberian region of Omsk bought the GPS tracker online and installed the device in her husband's car as she suspected him of infidelity, according to a statement by Russia’s Investigative Committee.

After listening to her partner's comings and goings for “several months,” the woman, whose name has not been released by authorities, decided to sell the device online for 1,000 rubles ($16). It was during the money handover that police arrested the woman and charged her with “illegal acquisition and sale of special technical equipment intended for secretly receiving information," state news agency RIA Novosti reported. more

Click-bait headline, of course. The woman was already in Siberia. Which, reminds me of a 12 year old cut-up classmate in my math class. Teachers would try to give him a detention because of his antics, but for the longest time he wiggled out of them. "My mother is coming home from the hospital today. I can't stay." He fooled a lot of teachers, for many months, until they learned his mother was a nurse. ~Kevin

Phone Companies Know Your Location 24/7 - and they're selling it.

via Krebs on Security 
Your mobile phone is giving away your approximate location all day long.

This isn't exactly a secret: It has to share this data with your mobile provider constantly to provide better call quality and to route any emergency 911 calls straight to your location.

But now, the major mobile providers in the United States -- AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon -- are selling this location information to third party companies -- in real time -- without your consent or a court order, and with apparently zero accountability for how this data will be used, stored, shared or protected. 

It may be tough to put a price on one's location privacy, but here's something of which you can be sure: The mobile carriers are selling data about where you are at any time, without your consent, to third-parties for probably far less than you might be willing to pay to secure it. more

Derailed CEO Accused of Spying on Board Members

South Africa - Railway Safety Regulator board members had their movements monitored and their cars fitted with tracking devices - and their boss allegedly orchestrated the whole thing.

Times Select can reveal that embattled Railway Safety Regulator CEO Nkululeko Poya allegedly spied on board members. She is currently on precautionary suspension after being charged for a string of alleged irregularities, including irregular staff appointments...

The new allegations facing Poya stem from a whistle blower who revealed how he had been engaging in clandestine activities on Poya’s behalf... He that said he worked on Poya’s instructions to spy on board members and find dirt against them. more

PI Sued for Planting Tracking Device... on a politician's pick-up truck.

An Oklahoma lawmaker who found a tracking device attached to his pickup truck last month is suing a private investigation company and an investigator who works for the company over the device.

Click to enlarge.

 Discovery of the tracking device has shocked Oklahoma politicians, who are wondering who was spying.

Rep. Mark McBride, a Republican from the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, is suing Eastridge Investigations and Asset Protection and Eastridge investigator H.L. Christensen for unspecified damages of more than $10,000, according to an attorney for Eastridge. more

Norway & Germany Call Time Out on Kiddy Smartwatches

Recently, Germany's Federal Network Agency (FNA) called foul on smartwatches that worked as listening devices — specifically those worn by children between the ages of 5 and 12, and used by parents, in particular, to eavesdrop on their kids while at school.

"Piss off."

The German regulating body said that parents would listen in on classes and teachers without consent...

These special watches, work like a baby monitor — allowing someone to tap into the device and listen in to anything happening around it. And people are being asked now to not only keep an eye out for these particular smartwatches — but destroy them, and then send proof back to the FNA....

Germany's not alone in worrying about children's smartwatches. The Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) had the same type of reaction a full month before the FNA, issuing a report about security concerns around the devices.

The NCC noted that smartwatches — besides acting as listening devices — can also transmit the location of a child — presumably to parents — but have security flaws which could open that information up easily to others. more 

Glad they didn't have these forearm ankle bracelets when I was a kid. ~Kevin