Buyer Beware: GPS Jammers Are Illegal to Use (And Sell)

If you think you are looking to buy a GPS jammer you need to think again. According to the FCC and Federal law it is illegal to use, sell or even market these devices in the United States. For some people who suspect that they are the subject of illegal GPS tracking activity, this leaves them with one less option to fight against a stalker or other criminal activity. But in the interest of public safety the complete prohibition of these devices has been deemed necessary by the powers that be. Whether or not you agree with this, it is the law and you should probably look for another solution to take care of your illegal GPS tracking problem.

GPS Jammers ARE Illegal

Why Is Owning a GPS Jammer Illegal?

A person looking to buy a GPS tracking jammer to help thwart illegal activity by the US government or by a private citizen could feel as though a law preventing them from doing so is stupid.  They are just trying to protect themselves; isn’t that okay?  The powers that be, however, have deemed the use, sale and marketing of such jamming devices illegal (except by the US government – a little ironic, don’t you think).  The Department of Homeland Security is ramping up efforts to identify sources of jamming activity and prosecute those who are using these devices.  Just take a look at these statements by government officials and laws:

Communications Act of 1934, as amended, 47 U.S.C. §§ 301, 302a(b), 333.

  • Section 301 of the Communications Act: “No person shall use or operate any apparatus for the transmission of energy or communications or signals by radio…except under and in accordance with [the Communications] Act and with a license in that behalf granted under the provisions of this Act.” 47 U.S.C. § 301.
  • Section 302(b) of the Communications Act: “No person shall manufacture, import, sell, offer for sale, or ship devices or home electronic equipment and systems, or use devices, which fail to comply with regulations promulgated pursuant to this section.” 47 U.S.C. § 302a(b).
  • Section 333 of the Communications Act: “No person shall willfully or maliciously interfere with or cause interference to any radio communications of any station licensed or authorized by or under [the Communications] Act or operated by the United States Government.” 47 U.S.C. § 333.

“Jamming devices create serious safety risks. In the coming weeks and months, we’ll be intensifying our efforts through partnerships with law enforcement agencies to crack down on those who continue to violate the law. Through education, outreach, and aggressive enforcement, we’re tackling this problem head on.”

— P. Michele Ellison, Chief, Enforcement Bureau

Jammers are definitely illegal and the government is taking an increasing interest in suppressing their use.

The main reason cited by the government is that jammers of all kinds pose a risk to public safety. The rational goes something like this:

Jammers are indiscriminate blockers. Since jammers are unable to determine if a phone call or GPS device is being used for emergency purpose or for a social one, they pose a risk to all citizens. The key here is that they are indiscriminate. Just imagine if you have a jammer set up in your store, home or car. You might have the jammer there for perfectly legitimate reasons, like preventing someone from tracking you while at work, at home or on the road. But these jammers have no way of blocking just your device. Someone in the store could have a heart attack, or your next door neighbor might cut themselves with a knife, or your vehicle could get in an accident. If the jammer is powerful enough you run the risk of preventing the legitimate use of communication signals for emergency purposes. You are now posing a risk to the world around you.

Jammers can also wreak havoc on important national infrastructure. The DHS is beginning to take this very seriously. Just take a look at the slides of their presentation (.pdf) at the 2012 Telcordia-NIST-ATIS Workshop on Synchronization in Telecommunication Systems (WSTS ’12), held March 20-22, 2012, in Broomfield, Colorado. While some of the jamming equipment outline in this presentation offer a significant leap over most GPS jamming equipment found through a simple Google search, the risk to financial, power, telecommunications and transportation infrastructure is significant.

With that being said, you really should think twice about getting a jammer.

More Government Resources:

Is My GPS Jammer Illegal?

What about those who have already bought a device marketed as a GPS jammer? How does a person tell if the jammer is legal or illegal?

The easiest way to tell is to identify FCC ID label your device. If it does not have the important FCC ID then you should stop using your device because it is probably illegal to use.

If you need help finding the FCC ID on your device you might find this helpful: FCC ID Number Help

What You Can Do to Protect Yourself From Illegal GPS Tracking

If you have gotten this far and are wondering what you can do to help protect yourself from unlawful GPS tracking then you might want to consider these tips:

    • Check your cell phone periodically from apps or file folders that you don’t recognize. If you find something that you didn’t install then Google the name to find out more about the app or file folder. If the app is malicious, take the necessary steps to remove the app.
    • Do a routine inspection of your wheel wells and vehicle under carriage.
    • Most GPS trackers will attach to your vehicle via a magnet, so look for anything that appears out of place. Once you find a device contact the police right away so they can take a look. Another option would be to remove the device and attach it to a random car (!), but its probably better just to call the police.

If you have any additional questions feel free to leave a comment below.

GPS Tracking Jammers: Problems and Uses

Update 4/16/2012:  GPS jammers are illegal and should not be used.  After several events in recent years the US government has really began to crack down on GPS jammers since they pose a significant risk to public safety and  national infrastructure.  Consumers should not buy these devices unless they are approved by the FCC.  Any jammer in use should be retired and an alternative method to ensure location privacy should be employed since penalties for jammer use could exceed $100,000 and include jail time.

To anyone familiar with GPS technology, it is no surprise that GPS tracking jammers can cause all sorts of havoc to tracking systems irregardless of their use. Anti-theft devices, fleet tracking systems, personal navigation devices, and airline navigation systems will all fall victim to small, low power GPS blockers. That is just the nature of the whole tracking system.

Because of this inherent flaw, there are some good uses for GPS tracking blockers, but there are also some rather nefarious uses as well. But before we get into all that, let’s first see how and why tracking systems can be so easily tampered with.

Why GPS Is So Easy To Block

When you rely on satellites that are thousands of miles away (around 12,500 miles to be exact) it becomes very easy to interfere with the signals that the satellites emit. Bob Cockshott, a conference speaker and leader of a government funded technology program in the UK, puts it this way, “The problem is that the signal from the satellites is extremely weak – it’s the equivalent of picking up the light output of a 25-watt bulb on the satellite.” The problem seems to be that the signal from the satellites are so weak that disrupting them would be as easy as preventing someone from seeing a 25-watt light bulb from thousands of miles away.

In other words, the task is a simple one. There are GPS tracking blockers that can be powered by the cigarette lighter in a car that have enough power the not only jam the tracking or navigation in your car but also of a car that is very close to you. According to Wired Magazine, 2 watts of power is enough to disable a car-based GPS device while a blocker powered at 20 watts will be enough to cover the area of an entire airport. In other words, that is not very much effort to bring down a very large amount of GPS relates systems.

The Problem With GPS Tracking Jammers

The potential abuse of this flaw in the system could be used for purposes that do not have the greater good of humanity in mind. While it would be best if no one every took advantage of the flaws in the GPS tracking infrastructure, it is already happening on some level all over the world. Here are some of the more common instances:

Car Theft

Car Theft Gone Wrong

When GPS tracking for cars is installed in a vehicle it can be a very formidable way for the police to catch criminals and drastically reduce auto theft. But when a GPS tracking jammer is also installed in the car as it is being stolen, the criminal is able to get away without anyone knowing that the vehicle has been stolen. The owner won’t get an alert letting them know that their vehicle has left their geofence. Even when they wake up to find their car missing, they will not be able to track it because the jammer will have essentially taken the vehicle off the grid in terms of the person’s tracking capabilities.

High Jacking

Another serious concern is the use of GPS blockers by organized crime to boost cargo carriers without being able to be tracked. Most fleets have some sort of GPS monitoring system installed in their vehicles in order to help with fleet administration and improve customer service. These systems also help companies recover stolen vehicles.

But if criminals are using blockers, then no amount of fleet tracking capability is going to help the company figure out where its vehicle is. It will also prevent the police from quickly tracking down the stolen vehicle. The goods will be stolen and that will probably be the end of it.

Attacks Against Humanity

If someone was sick enough, they could also do serious damage to the infrastructure of various public and private services, causing widespread destruction and mayhem. I won’t go into to much detail about this point for fear of somehow encouraging evil, but there are serious risks for certain systems that only use GPS for timing and routing information.

The (Legal) Uses of GPS Tracking Jammers

Despite the many different negative uses of a jammer, there are also some very useful applications for this technology. It is important to note that all technology is essentially amoral. It is neither good nor bad in and of itself. Instead, it is the use of the technology that is either good or bad. This is no different for GPS tracking in general or for GPS tracking blockers specifically.

One of the common themes that you will find below is that the best uses for a GPS jammer is to combat an improper use of a GPS tracker. But this should be expected given the nature of what a jammer/blocker is!

Stop Stalkers

Ninja Stalker Stalking

If you are being stalked by someone who is using GPS to do so you should feel completely within your “rights” to purchase a jamming device and install it in your car. No one should be able to find out exactly where you are so that they can watch your every move so that they can plan some sort of wickedness against your person. Such violations should be blocked. If you are particularly paranoid, think about getting a blocker to place inside your car in addition to occasionally searching the wheel wells of your car.

Escape Illegal Government Tracking

You might be surprised how often a government official has secretly and illegally placed a tracking device on your vehicle. For example, there is currently a case going on right now in Louisiana where police illegally installed a GPS tracking device for a friend. The victim did not buy a jammer, but if he did he would have been able to put an immediate nix on the illegal activity until he eventually found the tracking device. Now I don’t want to imply that there is a great government conspiracy going on where the government is in the business of tracking private citizens without warrant or reason, because I just don’t think that this is the case. But there is some truth to government employees abusing their powers and using GPS tracking for their own ends. This type of thing should be blocked by using GPS tracking jammers.

Prank our Friends

Sometimes there is nothing quite like a good laugh, especially when it is at the expense of a good friend in good fun. To pull off this prank successfully, all you need to do is install a GPS jammer in their car while you travel with them to a destination using GPS navigation to get there. Be sure that you look up how to get to the place and commit them to memory. Then make your friend a bet the you can given them better directions than their GPS can. Make it a big bet, like $100 or more. Once they agree, just turn on your jammer and direct them to your destination like their GPS would have if you weren’t blocking it. When they get ready to pay you for your knowledge, reveal the prank and have a great laugh.

GPS Jammer and Blockers In Review

It is clear that these devices are amoral in nature, but that they can be used for both great evil and great good. Some governments, like that in England, have decided to make them illegal to sell or use. While this may help cut down the trafficking of these device, it will not ultimately end their use – especially by the criminal element. But I guess that is the English way. I hope America keeps GPS tracking jammers legal, but just educates the public about their proper use.

Sources:Wired, Guardian

Image Sources: Alan Vernon, mikemol