|
|
May 24, 2011 14:42:46 GMT
|
Apparently any 3G phone can be tracked down to 10m or so by the phone company even if it isn't equipped with GPS or the GPS receiver is switched off so you can be located in an emergency. I don't know, but I guess those track my mobile services would just be making the same sort of request to the operator in return for a fee.
I'm a bit sceptical though as if the box is tin, the phone won't get a signal from inside. Shoving it in a tupperware box with a magnet taped to the inside would surely be cheaper, less suspicious and waterproof too.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
May 24, 2011 14:54:52 GMT
|
Apart from that it's real? Well, if not real it's at least plausible and technically feasable. It's also very interesting. The tracker element could be used to let the thieves steal cars not in their area so they won't be known to the local Police. Thieves could spot the cars in car parks or at posh golf clubs (or wherever rich people with nice cars go, how would I know?) and they don't need to know anything about the local area to find them again, they just arrive at, or very near, the owner's house at night. The modus operandi of modern car theft often involves breaking into the owner's house to get keys so this reasonably sophisticated method probably originated within the sort of criminal gangs who can defeat house alarms and can move the car, or it's parts, after the theft rather than being something that joyriders would use.
|
|
|
|
|
|
May 24, 2011 14:55:42 GMT
|
you can track a mobile phone by what cell its using, in a big city the cells are close together because the buildings block signals, out in the country one cell can cover a huge area.
|
|
Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
|
|
|
|
May 24, 2011 17:53:55 GMT
|
a few thoughts on this... You can't track a mobile that accurately with any predictability. The phones with decent GPS still need fair line of site to operate reliably.
What we have as a fact is that a thief was caught with 30 mobile phones. To my mind a more plausible explaination is that he stole them (clue 1, he's a thief) and was going to punt them on round the pubs, car boot or eBay. Someone down the station invents some wild story about a tracking scheme
Show me a case where it is actually shown that the thieves attached a mobile phone to the car and then tracked it by GPS or triangulation to its home and I'll believe it. Link please, not some copper my dad works with thinks...
Sorry to sound a pedant, but I hear loads of "my brother's mate works for the police" or "my cousin's wife works for environmental health" stories which turn out to be conjecture and such.
Evenif its true I doubt any of us will be checking under our cars every time we drive them for concealed tracking devices.
And to be fair there are far, far better tracking devices available than mobile phones which won't require you to register them in order to enable them and so you can track them... Not *that* expensive either.
|
|
Last Edit: May 24, 2011 17:54:28 GMT by akku
1937 Austin Street Rod - 1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1976 Rover V8 - 1994 Ford Fiesta
|
|
|
|
May 24, 2011 18:04:53 GMT
|
I read somewhere recently that theft of cars without keys was on the increase again.It read that ordinary stuff was being targeted; Golfs, Focus etc, and that they were changing the ECUs. I take it they're probably breaking into the cars and possibly changing the ECUs with one they have the key to or that the immobilizer removed. You can only really slow a determined thief down, not prevent them it seems...
|
|
|
|
|
|
May 24, 2011 18:19:45 GMT
|
some while ago I read car crime stats for Nottingham and the cars most targetted were Escorts, Fiestas and Astras. Reason: healthy trade in second hand parts to dodgy back street garages and high price of parts, many "dealer only" parts, which were at odds with the vehicle's value.
Another thought is that when you take a photo of your car with your smartphone, then upload that to your fave forum, the world and his dog can access the geotags and see where the photo was taken... at home... Hmmm...
Thats why Faststone and others have the option to wipe and rewrite XIF data on JPGs.
|
|
1937 Austin Street Rod - 1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1976 Rover V8 - 1994 Ford Fiesta
|
|
dubwarrior2
Part of things
"Open up, its the filth"
Posts: 576
|
|
May 24, 2011 23:30:51 GMT
|
I am a copper and its not that easy to track a mobile phone at all. When you triangulate a phone signal, it just gives you the location of three masts that the phones signals have bounced off.
All well and good but it then gives you an area of potentially 10 sq miles to search. Use it a lot for high risk missing persons.
|
|
|
|
ims
Posted a lot
Yaaaaaarrrrrrrrr
Posts: 1,055
|
|
May 25, 2011 17:58:31 GMT
|
heard of this thought it was curse word tbh but if your dad works for the old bill must be true... I'd of said the payg's were so they couldnt be traced with contract phone's and for giving to 'the lads'.
Most of them just trawl round casing making mental notes of where to go.....
Allegedly most targetted in yorkshire is vag. Due to the large number of enthusiasts. Parts are easy to flog on for high value quickly wheels engine and interior can quickly net them a few grand. How do I know? Regular visits from the local force to inspect what I'm breaking. They look quite depressed to find felicias lol
|
|
Last Edit: May 25, 2011 18:00:43 GMT by ims
1993 Rs2o0o
|
|
|
|
May 25, 2011 18:03:45 GMT
|
c'mon Dubwarrior, next you'll be telling me you can't take a CCTV still, enhance it on the computer, use a reflection to see something round the corner and then identify your suspect from 300 yrds away. I saw that on CSI as well...
|
|
1937 Austin Street Rod - 1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1976 Rover V8 - 1994 Ford Fiesta
|
|
|
|
May 25, 2011 18:07:57 GMT
|
c'mon Dubwarrior, next you'll be telling me you can't take a CCTV still, enhance it on the computer, use a reflection to see something round the corner and then identify your suspect from 300 yrds away. I saw that on CSI as well... I saw an episode of Morse the other week where it took them a day and a half to have a photo blown up large enough to read the label on the inside of a blazer. It was great.
|
|
1989 Peugeot 205. You know, the one that was parked in a ditch on the campsite at RRG'17... the glass is always full. but the ratio of air to water may vary.
|
|
|
|
|
May 25, 2011 18:41:18 GMT
|
When they do anything to do with computers I can't watch. CSI:NY - we can't trace his IP because its come from a corporate network. Oh, in which case phone up the sysadmin and he'll give you the building, floor and section where the computer was and the name of the person who was logged on at the time then. No? Spend the next 45 minutes performing some bizarre set of pseudo-tech nonsense to find out the same info one phone call (and a warrant) would have gotten you? LOLZ
|
|
1937 Austin Street Rod - 1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1976 Rover V8 - 1994 Ford Fiesta
|
|
|
|
|
When they do anything to do with computers I can't watch. CSI:NY - we can't trace his IP because its come from a corporate network. Oh, in which case phone up the sysadmin and he'll give you the building, floor and section where the computer was and the name of the person who was logged on at the time then. No? Spend the next 45 minutes performing some bizarre set of pseudo-tech nonsense to find out the same info one phone call (and a warrant) would have gotten you? LOLZ ;D
|
|
Last Edit: May 26, 2011 5:59:41 GMT by cairyhunt
Remember the days when sex was safe and motorsport was dangerous. Vintage bling always attracts pussy.
|
|
MWF
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,945
|
|
|
Quite a few years back there was a guy on PassionFord who found something like this attached to the underside of his taxi. It was a small box with a cheap phone inside wired up to a large battery. In that case it was because he'd been in an accident caused by another driver and making a significant claim against lost earnings. The device was being used to track his taxi in attempt to intercept him and gather evidence he was still trading.
We use GPS phone tracking in the 4x4 Response (Google Latitude) and its hit and miss, sometimes its way off and other times its freakishly eerie, I've sat watching people on the screen in real time making their journeys. One of the guys in our group uses the mobile phone in a box trick with the scouts to track minibuses when they have group activities.
Mobile phone GPS can be very good now, I use TomTom on my phone regularly and it takes a lot to block the signal.
Based on my own experiences doing this I find the practical side very plausible.
Not too convinced on the need to do it though, it's not like it's hard to work out where desirable cars are kept.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
One of the guys in our group uses the mobile phone in a box trick with the scouts to track minibuses when they have group activities. I hope this is some thing related to his job or voluntary work and not just some thing he likes to do in his past time
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I think a lot depends on the phone and software, my HTC desire with Copilot 8 on it works in the house most of the time, while my old nokia running tom tom would need to be outside for about 4 or 5 minutes before it picked up where i was.
|
|
Volvo back as my main squeeze, more boost and some interior goodies on the way.
|
|
|
|
|
This is a v funny thread.
I'm not sure why a car theif would bother will all of this hassle when there are plenty of expensive cars parked in any UK street because everyone fills their garages with junk.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is a v funny thread. I'm not sure why a car theif would bother will all of this hassle when there are plenty of expensive cars parked in any UK street because everyone fills their garages with junk. LOL! true. My Sis-in-law lives on a new build executive estate and you'd not get a smart car in those garages anyway, all the X5s and RR-Sports sit outside in the street.
|
|
1937 Austin Street Rod - 1941 Wolseley Not Rod - 1956 Humber Hawk - 1957 Daimler Conquest - 1966 Buick LeSabre - 1968 Plymouth Sport Fury - 1968 Ford Galaxie - 1969 Ford Country Squire - 1969 Mercury Marquis - 1970 Morris Minor - 1970 Buick Skylark - 1970 Ford Galaxie - 1971 Ford Galaxie - 1976 Continental Mark IV - 1976 Ford Capri - 1976 Rover V8 - 1994 Ford Fiesta
|
|
MWF
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,945
|
|
May 26, 2011 10:44:24 GMT
|
I think a lot depends on the phone and software, my HTC desire with Copilot 8 on it works in the house most of the time, while my old nokia running tom tom would need to be outside for about 4 or 5 minutes before it picked up where I was. Totally agree I've had the same experience.
|
|
|
|
MWF
Posted a lot
Posts: 2,945
|
|
May 26, 2011 10:48:31 GMT
|
This is a v funny thread. I'm not sure why a car theif would bother will all of this hassle when there are plenty of expensive cars parked in any UK street because everyone fills their garages with junk. LOL! true. My Sis-in-law lives on a new build executive estate and you'd not get a smart car in those garages anyway, all the X5s and RR-Sports sit outside in the street. While this is indeed true and my thinking also, I doubt anyone here possesses that much knowledge about how the car theft industry works. At least I'd hope that's the case. Perhaps there is a need to locate specific models/variations of cars that are hard to find. Could do with a freakanomics study on it, like the one they did on car colour and why women don't steal cars.
|
|
|
|
|
|
May 26, 2011 11:28:20 GMT
|
Most car theft gangs are in the business of stealing to order. You might find they've got an order for a very specific car, maybe down to a certain spec or engine size or even colour. It's a little hit and miss and somewhat suspicious to driving up and down every street on every estate looking for a certain car in the middle of the night.
It's far easier to head into a city centre and go from carpark to carpark in broad daylight until you find what you're after attach the tracker and come back at a more suitable time when you're more prepared.
|
|
Last Edit: May 26, 2011 11:29:28 GMT by WillCarter
|
|
|