One interesting case that came to light in this investigation was a young man whose in-dash GPS unit and CD player had been stolen. After a time, he took his car to the dealer to be repaired. When he got his car back and went to program the new GPS unit, he found that his settings were already in place. Then when he pushed the eject button on the CD player, a CD with his handwriting on it popped out. The dealer had unknowingly purchased a refurbished system from a middleman working in the crime ring and installed it in the victim’s car.

Warnings have gone out about keeping GPS units as well as the brackets that hold them out of view. It has even been recommended that residue left by suction cups be wiped away. Many cars today come with built-in GPS systems as part of the package, and now the only advice police can give is to keep cars locked and report stolen property immediately; the very item a thief stole may just lead authorities directly to his location.