What are GPS jammers
Signal jammers are devices designed to disrupt wireless communication, and by using one of these, criminals can cause the same signal-blocking effect on smartphones and even vehicle-tracking devices.
Remember when Safina Party Leader Jimi Wanjigi was being trailed and monitored during the Revolutionary GenZ demonstrations and was put under house arrest on allegations of instigating, inciting and funding the protests? The car he posted with antennas were Jammers to interrupt his communication and the surrounding area within 10m or more radius.
In a world where communication happens through frequencies, signal jammers are the ultimate party crashers.
Signal jamming usage is largely based on military activity, including overriding or obscuring a target signal and confusing enemy communications or radar but in Kenya and many 3rd world countries, the technology is misused for political warfare and by car thieves.
Signal jammers are also a popular tool used in several different crimes as they are effective prevention techniques for blocking calls and internet access, which can disrupt emergency response and communication with authorities.
Criminals also use it to conceal their location by messing up vehicle tracker signals to evade capture.
This article has been written after a X(formerly twitter) user raised concern over security of his car when parking in Nairobi cbd in a specific area/s and this post sparked wider conversation with KOX flooding the comment section with their experiences and knowledge around the matter.
You note, in these areas, your car central lock system fail to function, your alarm system fail.
Some of the mentioned areas in cbd mentioned are Macmillan Library, Jamia Mosque, Al Yusra, Nation Centre, Standard street especially around the bank and the standard building.
In these areas, even your bluetooth connection, carplay will disconnect.
Following the conversation, there is suspicion of either car theft syndicate or National security secret operation base within the area which prompted to the base where former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua alleged that DCI, NIS Abduction squad operates.
How signal jamming is used in vehicle theft and hijackings
It is when a remote device is used to block or jam the locking device of a motor vehicle. When you press your vehicle’s remote, the prospective thief presses a different remote button simultaneously, effectively blocking the signal from your remote to your vehicle.
These devices can be small, hand-held, or large, industrial briefcase-size jamming devices. Certain jamming devices are simply plugged into the vehicle’s cigarette-lighter jack socket, blocking all tracking signals. This results in the control centre losing contact with the vehicle, where the tracking system merely shows the vehicle’s last position before the signal is lost.
Criminals use GSM and GPS signal jammers to get tracking and recovery teams off their scent during and after hijacking operations. Signal jammers can prevent a vehicle’s telematics or tracking device from communicating its location to its service provider.
Cartrack’s jamming detection helps alert the control room of this activity, and in the event of a thief or hijacker using a jamming device to block communication between the tracking system and the cellular network
Conclusion.
1. Can a car tracker be jammed?
Yes, a jamming device can block the signal from a vehicle tracking device. GPS jammers produce a white noise radio signal transmitted at around the same frequency as the GPS satellites used by the GPS, blocking out the signals to GPS tracking devices and navigation systems
2. Can a GPS tracker signal be blocked?
Yes. A tracker’s GPS signals can be blocked by a variety of objects, including aluminium foil, plastic containers, and even wet trees. These are examples of more cost-effective options, but criminals use signal-jamming devices because they are more effective than aluminium and plastic and, as you can imagine, are easier to come by and transport than wet trees.
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