(Thanks to someone on TiVocommunity.) Guy Finds FBI Tracking Device On Car, Posts Pics Online... FBI Shows Up Demanding It Back | Techdirt Caught Spying on Student, FBI Demands GPS Tracker Back | Threat Level | Wired.com The TC poster asked: There were some funny responses like putting it on a bus or a politician's car, selling it to Gizmodo or putting it down your pants.
Drive to a dirt road, the rougher the better. Remove and triple wrap in aluminum foil and put in a metal bucket and cover with more foil. Drive a couple of miles and dig a hole and bury it. Take a crap and then cover it over. Wait a week or so to find the replacement. Then hire a lawyer, drive to their office, take it off and ask the lawyer to find out what is going on. Bob Wilson
If the objective is to send a message to the owner of the tracking device, I would think wrapping the device in foil is not necessary. The rest of the steps would seem to be sufficient. If a second device was found, it could be mailed to the Russian embassy or counsular office. Having your lawyer ask what is going on is not going to be a productive activity. The FBI (or any of the other alphabet soup governmental entities) don't have to acknowledge whether you are a 'person of interest' in the initial investigative phase. If they move to the grand jury stage, then they are required to notify you, but before that point, they are simply conducting an investigation. Even court-ordered surveillance does not require notification of the party being surveilled.
For this item, call the local police and report a suspected radio controlled pipe bomb attached to the car. Call some local TV stations too.
You might get tagged for filing a false report.... Calling local TV stations would get the story out more effectively.
the aluminum foil would be required. the GPS probably uses a combination of satellite and cellular service to track movements
I would have gone to my nearest truck stop and attached it to a transcontinental rig, and not said a word to anyone.
If one calls the police immediately upon discovering this pipe-like object wired to a radio-shaped object, before it can be removed and identified, a false reporting charge will be nearly impossible to sustain.
If one's car is tagged, I guarantee there is other surveillance going on as well. One's computer and phones will have been compromised, audio house bugs would be present, and all sorts of other crap could be happening. Removing the device would only result in the FBI ramping up the investigation. A civil liberties lawyer might be a helpful next step.
There might be other surveillance, but no wiretaps and or house bugs without a warrant (unless they're doing so illegally). For now in Virginia, at least, the courts have ruled a GPS device can be attached to a vehicle in a public place without a warrant: ACLU Of Virginia challenging warrantless GPS tracking by police
Open it up, take out the SIM card, put it: 1. In an old unlocked phone, then make free phone calls to Nigeria. 2. In a USB 3G data adapter, then enjoy free mobile internet access. Share your whole music and movie collection on bitorrent. Be entertained by watching the RIAA try to sue the FBI.
The guy is now suing the FBI about this. It'll be interesting to see what the outcome is. Student files lawsuit over FBI's GPS tracking - Yahoo! News