Every technology comes with a double-edged sword. GPS tracking is a useful tool for businesses to use to keep track of assets like trucks, trailers, and heavy equipment. But the bad guys have figured out expensive vehicles can be tracked. This means they’ve figured out a variety of ways to outsmart GPS Tracking. 

GPS blocking happens for a number of reasons. Thieves try to outsmart GPS tracking to prevent the recovery of the vehicle. Employees may want to obscure where they go during a workday. One New Jersey truck driver didn’t want his employer to know where he was. So he used a GPS jamming device to outsmart the tracking in his vehicle. One problem? He also brought down nearby Newark Liberty International Airport’s GPS-based air traffic control system. The driver was fined $32,000—and was certainly one of the most unpopular people on the planet for the thousands of fliers who had their trip disrupted. 

Small devices like the one used by the trucker broadcast their own signals that disrupt the ones the in-vehicle unit uses. This makes the vehicle “disappear” from the business owner’s network. But you don’t even need advanced technology to outsmart GPS tracking. Covering a unit with metal in the form of tin foil will do it, too. Does that mean you have to live with your trucks potentially falling off the grid thanks to GPS blocking? GPS Trackit’s platform helps you fight GPS blocking with a number of clever features. 

How to Beat GPS Blocking

Even when your GPS tracking monitor can’t broadcast its location to the GPS satellite or transmit data to you via its built-in cell signal, it can still let you know when something isn’t right. The platform sends a notification when a device is offline or has stopped reporting data—which gives a manager the heads up that follow-up could be necessary. By integrating the information about a lost signal with the vehicle’s “crumb trail”—the GPS tracing of its route on a given day—you can determine if your vehicles were where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there.   

When a GPS tracking system has an in-cabin video component, like GPS Trackit’s VidFleet, you can see someone covering a monitor or installing a jammer. You can also record the activity as evidence. Bad actors might be able to set up GPS blocking, but that doesn’t mean it’s undetectable. 

To learn more about how to protect your fleet—and beat GPS blocking—set up a free demo with a GPS Trackit Fleet Advisor today.