ABC’s 20/20 Reports on Using GPS Tracking for Stolen Bikes

ABC 20/20, a weekly hour-long magazine which is focused on topics of human interests, goes undercover this week using Gio Benitez, journalist, to locate stolen items using modern technology, including GPS tracking devices and hidden cameras.

A trailer previews Benitez finding a stolen bike from a private garage. The stolen bike is tracked through the GPS device and points to a storage facility. To the surprise of the investigators, the bike was traced back to a flea market and to a man named Ricardo.

A lot of these stolen items taken from homes all over the country, end up at popular advertising sites like Craigslist and county flea markets. Another big online company that is cracking down on counterfeit and ‘hot’ merchandise is eBay. Gio Benitez, along with his crew, aren’t the only people using modern technology for tracking stolen items. Law enforcement agencies and policemen use this technology for making arrests.

One Arizona man who possessed some luxury electronic items in his house had attached small GPS devices in each of them. These devices proved useful when his door was kicked in by a thief and some money and expensive jewelry of his was stolen. He was able to literally watch his things move through the city as the thief drove and make their way into the thief’s home. He then called the police and directed them right to the thief’s home where his stolen items were.

In other locations across the U.K. and the U.S., people are using these small devices for tracking things like iPhones, iPads, stolen bikes and more. However, it’s important to be careful when tracking items by yourself since in some cases, it could result in death.

For instance, there was a case where 18 year old Jeremy Cooks, a Canadian teen, tracked his stolen iPhone using an app. He tracked the exact location of his phone and went there to recover it. When he arrived, he was shot and killed by the robbers.

GPS tracking devices are not only being used for locating stolen items. They are also being used to locate cheating spouses, learn about endangered species, improve fleet management, keep track of the elderly, keep an eye on teen driving, and monitor athletes’ performance . With their gaining popularity, law enforcement officials are now warning and urging the public to stay smart and safe and to not attempt to track down a cheating spouse or stolen items on their own. Always, call the police.

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