Imported from China, this powerful signal jammer operates on the same frequency as GPS satellites, effectively drowning out timing signals and confusing in-car devices. By disrupting GPS-based tracking technology, it renders in-vehicle systems unable to determine their position or report to vehicle tracking centers. This is especially useful in cases where cars or lorries registered with GPS tracking are stolen, as it helps thwart potential theft by making the vehicles untraceable.

• Have car thief gangs started using imported GPS signal jammers to evade tracking technology?
• Who Gets Caught Using a GPS Jammer Every Three Years?

Have car thief gangs started using imported GPS signal jammers to evade tracking technology?

Vehicles mysteriously “disappear from the radar” when GPS jamming technology is in play, revealed Professor David Last of the University of Wales at Bangor. This technology, which has been recently utilized by car thief gangs, enables them to evade tracking systems. Professor Last’s insights come from his experience as an expert witness in cases involving the confiscation of these illegal devices. Beyond mere evasion, gps jammers also have the capability to locally override mobile signals. Reports indicate that this feature has been exploited to prevent truck drivers from contacting the police during robberies in Germany. Moreover, experts suggest that some German drivers have resorted to using these devices to circumvent GPS-based road tolls, which were implemented for trucks in 2005. Despite its widespread use, the legality of owning this technology remains ambiguous, especially since the sale and use of jamming devices are prohibited in both the UK and Germany.

The misuse of GPS jamming by criminals has become a recent threat, dating back only about 18 months. GPS expert Bob Cockshott, working for the publicly funded Technology Strategy Board, warns that even a jammer with an output of just 2 watts can effectively swamp GPS satellite signals within a few meters. More powerful devices, reaching 20 watts, could potentially disrupt GPS signals over larger areas like river estuaries or airports. To counter this emerging threat, the UK government has invested £2.2 million in a consortium, including Chronus Technology, to develop GPS-jamming detection systems currently in the prototype stage. “We need to make users of GPS aware of the threat,” Cockshott emphasized, highlighting the importance of education and preparedness in the face of this growing challenge.

Car thief gangs have started utilizing imported GPS jammers, enabling them to evade tracking technology. This emerging trend underscores the importance of implementing complementary systems that triangulate positions based on signal strength from mobile phone masts or similar technologies. Such systems serve as a crucial backup to GPS-based vehicle tracking and recovery services, enhancing their effectiveness in the face of these new challenges.

Who Gets Caught Using a GPS Jammer Every Three Years?

Since at least 2009, illegal GPS jammers have been disrupting the GPS-based precision landing system at Newark Liberty International Airport. However, it seems that only two individuals have been caught by the Federal Communications Commission for using these devices. Truck drivers on the adjacent New Jersey Turnpike and airport roads utilize these jammers to disable gps tracking devices installed by their employers. Unfortunately, this action also interferes with the operation of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Ground Based Augmentation System. This system provides enhanced navigation signals to aircraft in the airport’s vicinity, ensuring precision approach, departure procedures, and terminal area operations. Following an interference complaint from the FAA on August 3, the FCC announced last Friday that they had caught a driver of a Ford F-150 pickup truck operating a GPS jammer at the airport on August 4, 2012, and imposed a $32,000 fine.

The Enforcement Bureau New York office agent, patrolling the airport with a direction-finding signal sniffer, caught driver Gary P. Bojczak red-handed. According to the FCC, Bojczak confessed to owning and operating a radio transmitting device responsible for disrupting GPS transmissions. He explained that he had installed and activated the jamming device in his company vehicle to evade the GPS-based tracking system his employer had put in place. Fortunately for authorities, this case was a breakthrough compared to previous challenges in detecting GPS jammers near the Newark airport. As John Merrill, the program manager for position, timing, and navigation at the Homeland Security Department, revealed at a GPS conference in 2012, it had taken the FAA and FCC over two years, from March 2009 to April 2011, to pinpoint a single gps jammer operated by another trucker on the New Jersey Turnpike. Bojczak, realizing the seriousness of his actions, voluntarily handed over the jammer to the FCC agent.

Trying to detect GPS jammers is like fighting a relentless tide. A simple Google search reveals 1.7 million results for these devices, often priced below $100, highlighting their widespread availability. Alarmingly, every three years, someone gets caught using a GPS jammer.