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November 03, 2004
textually.org: GPS enabled phone can give you away
You cell phone reports where you are. And some cell phones, equipped with GPS receivers or other so-called "E-911" features, report location in more detail than others. This story describes how a youngster making prank calls on his cell phone was tracked to his school bus.textually.org: GPS enabled phone can give you away
GPS enabled phone can give you away A 14-year old student in Tennessee was riding the school bus home the other day. He started making prank 911 cell phone calls reporting robberies, beatings (his own dad beating up on his mother!) and other emergencies. Police were dispatched to each of the calls, ''You can't just pass them up, even if you think they're false,'' said E-911 Director Freddie Rich. ''You've got to dispatch an officer to check it out.'' But, the kid's GPS enabled phone gave him away. So did the sounds of other children laughing in the background. Authorities figured from the path the caller was on a school bus and with help from the school administration identified the bus and charged the youngster (The Tennessean, via GIS Monitor)
Posted by Richard Smith at November 3, 2004 10:29 AM