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By Matthew Impelli
Life & Trends Reporter
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When one car-owner picked up their vehicle from routine maintenance and discovered it had been tracked without their knowledge, what started as a simple service visit turned into a deeply unsettling mystery.
On Reddit, the original poster (OP) shared several photos after they discovered two trackers had been attached to their car, explaining that the two trackers were magnetically attached side by side inside the rear bumper.
The tracks appeared recently placed, with the OP noting they were clean and free of road grime.
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Their phone showed they were tracked Saturday from 8:46 a.m. to 11:06 p.m., matching the exact times the car was driven and later parked.
Tracking resumed Sunday at 5:46 a.m.—precisely when the car was started again. The OP said the tracking stopped only after they activated a “play sound” feature on their phone and located the smaller device while it was chirping, then removed its battery.
The car had been out of their possession from Monday through Friday for servicing at a dealership, where it was kept in an unsecured lot.
They asked the mechanic whether the dealership had planted any tracking hardware, but were told no.
"I have already contacted the police and provided them with all this information," the OP wrote. "I have a very small circle and no known stalkers at this time."
Reddit users attempted to identify the devices based on the images, with one writing, "The bigger one in pics 1 and 3 looks like a LandAirSea tracker. The pinhole in the side turns it on and off, and its battery can last for months.”
Another added, "I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it was someone at the dealership. They either lied to you about it not being them, or whoever you talked to just isn't aware that one of their coworkers is doing this to people.
"Either way, I would contact the police. They may have a way of finding out where the trackers came from."
In a message to Newsweek via Reddit, the OP confirmed that police were actively investigating the trackers.
“They will ultimately have to issue a subpoena/warrant to find who owns the tracker,” the OP explained, adding that they are hoping to have “more info or a resolution by the end of the week.”
Hidden Tracking Devices
This isn't the first time someone has turned to the internet for advice after finding a hidden tracking device.
One previous Newsweek story reported on a woman who found an Apple AirTag hidden inside her car's trailer hitch.
Upon reviewing security camera footage, she discovered two shocking moments.
"We found two videos of a guy," she told Newsweek. "The first video is him walking down our driveway and looking around. Then the second, 20 minutes later, is him walking to the hitch, popping it in and running away."
In another incident also covered by Newsweek, a woman was left “nauseated” after discovering an Apple AirTag attached to her vehicle.
We could not verify the details of the case.
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