Vehicle Tracking Jamming is Not Common Practice

Cartrack advises motorists to carefully compare different vehicle tracking offerings on the market and avoid cheap underperforming systems.

Last night’s Carte Blanche feature (21 April 2013) on vehicle tracking jamming devices set the cat among the pigeons and has understandably caused great concern among consumers who were not given a full or accurate picture. Cartrack Operations Manager Jerry Pierce believes there are a number of inaccuracies in the report that need to be clarified.

On the issue of signal jammers, Jerry says that while they do exist and to a degree they may work on GSM (cellular) signals, in Cartrack’s experience they have yet to find any of these devices during the course of their recovery operations. Backing up our experience that such devices are not prevalent and/or are not a thief’s solution to combat tracking systems, is our 95% audited recovery rate – this would not be achievable if jammers were a successful tool being used against us. “These units are not very powerful and would work for a limited radius only. However, a criminal who has just stolen a vehicle needs to stay in contact with his accomplices in terms of their movements, potential road blocks or approaching tracking and SAPS vehicles, so it would be absurd for them to cut themselves off from using their only form of communication in this regard, which is a cell phone.

“Another important factor which was not mentioned anywhere in the feature, is the fact that quality tracking devices make use of a combination of technologies from GSM, Radio frequency (RF) and GPS for tracking. “It’s important to remind motorists that most quality stolen vehicle recovery solutions don’t rely on a single technology platform such as GPS, GSM or RF technology alone, and would use a combination of technologies. We advise consumers to choose a system that provides a more resilient and robust solution and, better still, one that delivers multiple means of tracking and communication,” explains Jerry.

The jamming devices featured in Carte Blanche are geo-specific with a two-metre radius at best and only work on cellphone technology. This means the jammer has to be within a two-metre or less radius of the tracking device and it has to be activated continuously in order to block the signal effectively. How this is going to be done while the vehicle is being driven to a rogue installer to firstly find the device, remove it and dispose of it seems entirely impractical. The reality is that our experience shows us that the criminal act of jamming is not common at all. Most criminals do not worry about jamming the device. Thieves are more likely to better use their time to get away and dispose of the vehicle as soon as possible.

Essentially, the real issue here is the response times and the quality of the installation and recovery team of your tracking company. Cartrack recovers many vehicles within 15-20 minutes and arrests many of the suspects in the process too, so orchestrating such an elaborate jamming plot in such limited time seems a stretch at best.

“Jamming is not prevalent at all and we certainly have never found any of these devices during our recoveries. However, we have already made provision for the potential of this practice with our new generation systems that have work-arounds to protect against signal jamming devices.

“Vehicles that are not recovered are more likely a result of the thieves finding the unit themselves and stripping it out, rather than a result of jamming – this usually happens when there is a long delay of more than an hour or two before the vehicle is reported stolen. It’s also one of the reasons why Cartrack invests heavily in having our own in-house installation and recovery teams that we are fully in control of, and not outsourced third party teams of installers, recovery agents, vehicles and helicopters. We also change our strategies all the time to ensure we stay ahead of criminal syndicates. A key aspect of successful recovery is response time, and response time directly correlates to the sophistication of infrastructure and human capital sitting behind your tracking device,” says Jerry.

But the real issue here is the promotion of cheap tracking systems to consumers in a bid to gain market share, without warning them of the pitfalls. “Unsuspecting motorists are being duped into a false sense of security and left vulnerable with the influx of cheap vehicle tracking systems coming into the market. Consumers need to be very aware of what exactly they are buying and whether the cheaper system will actually respond as promised in their time of crisis. Alarmingly though, some vehicle tracking providers are in fact registered with various ‘professional’ bodies and while they have a range of reputable products available, are now introducing ‘cheap and cheerful’ products in a bid to win market share. Instead of diversifying and offering better value-add products and services that require investment into research and development, some providers are causing enormous damage to the industry and to consumers with the introduction of cheaper, under-performing systems .

As Cartrack, we urge consumers to ensure that they ask pertinent questions when it comes to their vehicle tracking and recovery systems including:

• Does the system provide real time tracking and monitoring? Anything less than this means your vehicle is likely to be ancient history in a theft or hijacking situation. Knowing where your vehicle is after the fact is hardly helpful.

• Can I test the system at any time? Most cheap systems cannot provide you with a means to test on demand and verify that the system is in fact working. This means that your only interaction with the system will be when you need it, and then you can only hope that it’s operational. There is zero user-interface.

• Does the tracking operator pro-actively test the units are functioning on a regular basis and make an effort to check/repair faulty systems?

• Does the tracking company have sufficient confidence in its recovery systems to provide audited recovery stats and/or a non-recovery warranty?

• What technology platform does the system run on – most reputable providers use a combination of GSM/GPS and RF location, which means that there is a vast network coverage area, a vehicle can be tracked to within meters of its location and continual monitoring is available if required. Cheap systems usually run on radio frequency only with very limited capabilities and vehicle location details provided by operators can range from “we cannot tell you where your vehicle is unless you report a theft” to vague positions or even kilometres out from reality.

Consumers are advised to carefully interrogate and compare the different vehicle tracking offerings on the market. Cheap systems are not equivalent to the sophisticated vehicle tracking products available on the market, and it’s irresponsible to market them as such. At all times, you need to balance value, quality and reliability with cost. When it comes to your safety and security this is one time where price really does equate to quality and you get what you pay for.

Cartrack has been independently and officially audited with a vehicle recovery rate of 95%. Not only is this currently one of the highest recovery rates in the market by a far margin, but Cartrack is also the only vehicle tracking company in South Africa to open its recovery books for official auditing by an external auditing firm. “It means that in times of distress, our customers can breathe a little easier knowing that they have a credible and capable partner to help them through even the most frightening scenarios. It’s also one of the key reasons why Cartrack is the preferred vehicle tracking company for many leading insurers and brokerages.

Based on its outstanding recovery rates, Cartrack also recently launched a first in South Africa with a R150 000 warranty offer for clients who have a Cartrack stolen vehicle recovery (SVR) system installed in their vehicle. With its recovery rate of 95%, Cartrack is the only vehicle tracking company in South Africa’s history to ever offer clients up to a R150 000 payment in the unlikely event that they are unable to recover a client’s stolen or hijacked vehicle.