What this mechanic found under a woman’s car might make you question your safety.
Tracking devices have gained popularity over the years. You’ve likely heard of the Tile or Apple AirTags. These pocket-size devices have a GPS tracker to help you keep track of important items like your keys, wallet, or luggage (among other things) if they are lost or stolen.
You can follow the tracker’s location on your phone. You can also make it chirp to help you locate it or to alert thieves that they’re being followed. Some car insurance companies offer a small discount if you put one on your phone, Forbes reported.
While it’s fine if you put a tracker on your own car, it becomes eery when you get the sense that your car is being tracked without your permission.
That’s what happened to this woman.
TikToker and mechanic Tooey (@tooeys.garage) says a customer came in with the suspicion there was a tracker on her car. Everywhere she went, he recalls her saying, there was an unidentifiable Tile following her around. Tooey’s video was viewed more than 2.6 million times.
Tooey says she added that the person who she suspected placed it there had a history of doing the same thing to someone else.
Tooey and his crew first looked inside the car for a few hours and found nothing, he says. Once a rack became available for them to lift up the car, they put it on there to inspect the underside.
Sure enough, they found a key box with a Tile wrapped in duct tape tucked inside.
“If you feel like someone might be creeping on you and stalking you, maybe see if your local shop can take a look. Hopefully, they won’t think you’re crazy, but it does actually happen,” Tooey says.
@tooeys.garage Customer stated that she suspected a tracker was in her vehicle, and asked if we could take a look. We looked inside 1st then put it on a lift once one opened up. The tile tracker was attached under the car in a magnetic key box. #creepy #creeper #stalker #mechanicsoftiktok #mechanic #fypage #gethelp @Life360 @Tile #fixed #life360 ♬ original sound – Tooey’s Garage
How to find a tracker on your car
If you suspect a potential thief or a scornful ex, friend, or family member has placed a tag on your car, there are some ways to find out for sure.
Most trackers have built-in precautions to help fight against stalking. AirTags emit a noise when separated from the owner after 8 to 24 hours, and if you have an iPhone, it will alert you if you’re moving with an AirTag that doesn’t belong to you. However, you must have location and Bluetooth on for this to work.
Tile has a similar feature that will locate any trackers moving with you, and on Android, you can download the Tracker Detect app to search for nearby AirTags.
In addition to this, if you suspect someone is tracking your car without your permission, it’s advisable to check common places like:
- glove box
- center console
- cargo area
- under seats
- seatback pocket
- under the carpet or trim panels
- in the engine
- under the car
- trunk
- wheel well
Most of these trackers are placed in easy-to-reach locations. If you can’t find it yourself, you can reach out to a car technician, but they’re not guaranteed to help you or take your request seriously.
Viewers praise the mechanic
People in the comments section applauded the mechanic for taking the woman’s request seriously.
“I hope you get all green lights & your pillow is cool on both sides. Thank you for taking time and investigating her concerns,” a person said.
“Found a carlot tracker from a buy here pay here place, As a diesel mechanic i swapped it to a long haul tractor trailer i serviced. let em track that all over the US,” another recounted.
“Found one IN my car a couple years back. The police said it wasn’t cost effective to investigate who put it there. I haven’t felt safe since,” a commenter shared.
The Daily Dot reached out to Tooey for comment via TikTok direct message and comment.
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