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posted by janrinok on Friday August 23 2019, @06:23PM   Printer-friendly
from the cue-music:-"I-always-feel-that-somebody's-watching-me" dept.

Mercedes spies on drivers by secretly installing tracking devices in cars and passing information to

Submitted via IRC for FatPhil

Mercedes has sparked a privacy row by admitting it spies on drivers with tracking devices covertly installed in its cars. The secret sensors, fitted to all new and used motors sold by the firm's dealers, pinpoint the vehicle's exact location.

The firm sold more than 170,000 new cars in Britain alone last year. Mercedes will not say how long it has used the sensors. And it insists they are only activated in "extreme circumstances" — when finance customers have defaulted on their payments.

But it admits sharing car owner information and vehicle location details with third-party bailiffs and recovery firms who repossess the cars.

Source: https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/9756250/mercedes-spies-drivers-tracking-devices/

Mercedes-Benz Tracking Down Customer Cars For Repossession: Report

Submitted via IRC for SoyCow3196

British publication The Sun, a sometimes terrible and occasionally entertaining tabloid across the pond, is reporting that concerns are boiling among human rights groups, former government ministers, and some legal experts about Mercedes-Benz using vehicle location data to track down customers who default on their finance program payments.

Source: https://jalopnik.com/brits-are-pissed-about-mercedes-benz-tracking-down-cust-1837449509

See also:


Original Submission #1Original Submission #2

 
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @10:51PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday August 23 2019, @10:51PM (#884396)

    When I bought my current car, a GM in 2014, I remove the antenna for the 'onstar' unit, and shorted the antenna lead with a resistor. All transmission attempts were lost as heat.

    Works quite well, and the system just thinks it is always out of range of cell towers. Downside? GPS/compass doesn't work, but I use my phone for all of that anyhow. This at least prevents many types of attacks.

    As I'm in the market for a new car again, I'm going to have to do an entire research cycle for whatever make/model I choose. Can I disable/remove tracking? My purchase dollars will stay in my pocket, if not!