Sunday, August 1, 2010

GPS Tracking Application Foils iPhone Theft in Minutes!

(My Original Blog Post: http://ping.fm/TD5Si)
Thieves snatching cell phones isn’t anything new. In fact, it happens all the time, which is why Covia Labs devised a GPS-tracking app for iPhone. It just so happens that while one of Covia’s employees was testing the app, a thief rode by on a bicycle and stole her iPhone.

Covia couldn’t have asked for better advertising, since the iPhone that was stolen was running the GPS-tracking app at the time that it was taken. Within moments, Covia employees were able to locate the phone, call police, and the thief was apprehended. Covia CEO, David Kahn, liked the theft to a “…bank robber who arrive during the security test.”

GPS trackers have been responsible for locating numerous stolen phones over the past few years. Thanks to a GPS tracker, Long Island police were able to locate fourteen stolen phones that were stolen from a public works department. In addition, many cell phone companies now include GPS tracking applications just in case a phone is stolen.  These apps must be turned on so as more and more stories surface like this one, you can bet people are turning on their tracking capabilities.

Even though a cell phone user must have a GPS tracking application in order to track a stolen phone, these applications are quickly becoming the norm. Other personal objects such as computers and purses are also becoming difficult for thieves to abscond with, since individuals can now place a GPS tracking device inside of nearly anything. While snatching a phone or purse from an unsuspecting victim used to be child’s play, thieves are quickly discovering that technology is making their work tougher - too bad!

(Source acquired via Wired.com, July 30, 2010.  Written by Harriette Halepis for Rocky Mountain Tracking, Inc.)

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