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Woman Immediately Moves Out From Her Apartment When Mechanic Finds A GPS Tracker Under Her Car
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Woman Immediately Moves Out From Her Apartment When Mechanic Finds A GPS Tracker Under Her Car

Woman Immediately Moves Out From Her Apartment When Mechanic Finds A GPS Tracker Under Her CarWoman Goes In For A Tire Change, Finds Out There’s A GPS Tracker Hidden On Her CarMan Becomes Possessive Of Roommate, Puts A Tracker In Her Car “For Her Safety”Man Accuses Friend With Benefits Of Cheating On Him, Starts Tracking Her CarMan Pretends To Care About Roommate’s Safety, Secretly Puts A Tracker On Her CarGuy Says He's Concerned For Roommate’s Safety, Was Actually Tracking Her Out Of JealousyWoman Agrees To Become Friends With Benefits With Her Roommate, He Starts Stalking Her
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Going to the mechanic is often full of unexpected surprises. You go in for a simple oil change, and you’re told that your car needs new air filters, new tires and a new battery. That’ll be $5,000. 

But when one woman went in to get a tire change, she never anticipated what the mechanic would find. Below, you’ll find a story that she shared on Reddit detailing how a GPS tracker ended up attached to her vehicle, as well as some of the replies that concerned readers shared.

Mechanics often spot things on vehicles that the driver would have never noticed

Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual image)

When this woman went in for a routine tire change, she never anticipated that a GPS tracker would be found on her car

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Image credits: Alessio Merighi (not the actual image)

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Image credits: varyapigu (not the actual image)

After confronting her roommate, the woman shared an update on the situation

Image credits: ThrowRAaway0

Vehicle owners often place trackers on their own cars to prevent theft

The idea of finding a GPS tracker on your car that you didn’t know about is terrifying. But these devices aren’t inherently bad. In fact, many people choose to attach them to their vehicles for a variety of reasons. According to Rewire Security, one of the main reasons why someone would attach a tracker to their car is to prevent theft.

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These devices can sometimes alert an owner immediately if a vehicle has been broken into, and if it’s stolen, the owner will be able to keep an eye on the car’s location. Today, some anti-theft devices can even immobilize the car if it’s been hot-wired, making the thieves unable to drive off with it.

In the same vein, some car owners use geofence alerts to ensure they know exactly what’s going on with their vehicle. This allows drivers to set a “digital fence” on a certain area of the map. And if the car exits that area, the owner will immediately be informed. This can be helpful when multiple family members share the same vehicle, but none of them would need to take it into another city, for example.

Some people even use these trackers to monitor their own driving behavior, keep track of historical data and reports from their car and reduce their insurance premiums. These trackers are also crucial for rental car and car sharing companies.

But attaching a tracker to someone else’s vehicle is illegal

However, it’s a completely different situation when the owner of the car finds out that someone else has been tracking their vehicle. This is a violation of privacy and trust, and it’s illegal to put a tracking device on a car that you don’t own. 

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And upon finding a tracker, removing it is not as simple as taking it off and throwing it away. BrickHouse Security recommends immediately going to the police after finding a tracking device on your vehicle, as deactivating it or removing it will alert the person who placed it there, which may potentially put you in danger. “It’s better to ensure that you have protection on your side,” BrickHouse Security notes.

If you suspect that someone may be tracking you through your vehicle, it’s important to know how to find the device first. Spy-Spot suggests first doing a visual inspection of the vehicle. Take a flashlight and look on the outside of the car, underneath the vehicle and even inside the car. 

Some of the most common places trackers will be attached on the outside of the car are the bumper, the wheels, under the hood or the undercarriage. Inside the vehicle, they’re commonly placed in the diagnostic port, under seats, underneath floor mats or in the trunk or hatchback. 

If you don’t find a device immediately, unfortunately, that does not guarantee that there’s nothing there. Spy-Spot notes that GPS bug detectors can also be used on the vehicle to see if anything is hiding. These detectors will start buzzing and lighting up once they get closer to a tracker, so they can be extremely beneficial in locating a hidden device.

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We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation in the comments below, pandas. How would you have reacted if you were in this woman’s shoes? Feel free to share, and then if you’d like to check out another Bored Panda article discussing similar issues, look no further than right here.

Later, the woman responded to commenters and provided even more information

Concerned readers shared their thoughts on the situation, as well as advice for the woman

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Adelaide Ross

Adelaide Ross

Writer, BoredPanda staff

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Howdy, I'm Adelaide! I'm originally from Texas, but after graduating from university with an acting degree, I relocated to sunny Los Angeles for a while. I then got a serious bite from the travel bug and found myself moving to Sweden and England before settling in Lithuania about two years ago. I'm passionate about animal welfare, sustainability and eating delicious food. But as you can see, I cover a wide range of topics including drama, internet trends and hilarious memes. I can easily be won over with a Seinfeld reference, vegan pastry or glass of fresh cold brew. And during my free time, I can usually be seen strolling through a park, playing tennis or baking something tasty.

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Adelaide Ross

Adelaide Ross

Writer, BoredPanda staff

Howdy, I'm Adelaide! I'm originally from Texas, but after graduating from university with an acting degree, I relocated to sunny Los Angeles for a while. I then got a serious bite from the travel bug and found myself moving to Sweden and England before settling in Lithuania about two years ago. I'm passionate about animal welfare, sustainability and eating delicious food. But as you can see, I cover a wide range of topics including drama, internet trends and hilarious memes. I can easily be won over with a Seinfeld reference, vegan pastry or glass of fresh cold brew. And during my free time, I can usually be seen strolling through a park, playing tennis or baking something tasty.

Dominyka

Dominyka

Author, BoredPanda staff

Read more »

I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda, crafting captivating visual content to enhance every reader's experience. Sometimes my mornings are spent diving into juicy dramas, while afternoons are all about adding extra laughs to the world by editing the funniest memes around. My favorite part of the job? Choosing the perfect images to illustrate articles. It's like imagining a story as a movie in my mind and selecting the key shots to tell the story visually.

Read less »

Dominyka

Dominyka

Author, BoredPanda staff

I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda, crafting captivating visual content to enhance every reader's experience. Sometimes my mornings are spent diving into juicy dramas, while afternoons are all about adding extra laughs to the world by editing the funniest memes around. My favorite part of the job? Choosing the perfect images to illustrate articles. It's like imagining a story as a movie in my mind and selecting the key shots to tell the story visually.

If you were in the woman's position, what would you prioritize doing next?
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This panda votes
Community Member
3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Millions of women groaned when air tags came out. We knew this was going to harm women. I'm so frustrated that these products were released before they even put together safety precautions. Just reeks of male ignorance and greed for profit. *Steps off soapbox.*

David
Community Member
3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

you do know those existed before Airtags, Apple did not invent them, however unlike the earlier ones, Apple's one if you have an apple phone or a specific app for Android, you will know if you are near one. But years before Air Tags, you could pick up online those things from commerical shipping supply companies for very cheap.

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Libstak
Community Member
3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is going to be a huge problem with a lot of vulnerable females and males too going forward. I can see an epidemic of stalking in modern humanities future.

John Harrison
Community Member
3 days ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

If that were going to happen, why wouldn't it already be happening?

Load More Replies...
Mark Ward
Community Member
3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is way more common than people realize, i work as a mechanic and have found at least a dozen of these whilst working. There have been occasions where the driver has been suspicious and requested us to look for one. I believe there is an app that will detect a tracking device is transmitting data

Load More Comments
This panda votes
Community Member
3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Millions of women groaned when air tags came out. We knew this was going to harm women. I'm so frustrated that these products were released before they even put together safety precautions. Just reeks of male ignorance and greed for profit. *Steps off soapbox.*

David
Community Member
3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

you do know those existed before Airtags, Apple did not invent them, however unlike the earlier ones, Apple's one if you have an apple phone or a specific app for Android, you will know if you are near one. But years before Air Tags, you could pick up online those things from commerical shipping supply companies for very cheap.

Load More Replies...
Libstak
Community Member
3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is going to be a huge problem with a lot of vulnerable females and males too going forward. I can see an epidemic of stalking in modern humanities future.

John Harrison
Community Member
3 days ago

This comment is hidden. Click here to view.

If that were going to happen, why wouldn't it already be happening?

Load More Replies...
Mark Ward
Community Member
3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is way more common than people realize, i work as a mechanic and have found at least a dozen of these whilst working. There have been occasions where the driver has been suspicious and requested us to look for one. I believe there is an app that will detect a tracking device is transmitting data

Load More Comments
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