GPS technology in cell phones enable abusers to stalk sheltered victims

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. - If you thought satellite tracking was available only to the CIA, think again. The technology is already in your cell phone. And others can use it to pinpoint your location.

Bonnie Rosendale is with CASA, a women's shelter for victims of domestic violence.  “If the abuser has access to the account," says Rosendale, "he can get all kinds of information about the cell phone.”

The exact location of the shelter in Pinellas County is a closely guarded secret, but abusive husbands and boyfriends have been able to find the place by tracking their victim's phone. “Every new cell phone for about the last 2 or 3 years is fully equipped with GPS,” says Rosendale.

Think of the manufacturer-installed GPS on your phone like a virtual leash. Mostly because your cell phone is always with you. It is connected with satellites high in the sky, allowing your phone to triangulate its location anywhere on the surface of the Earth. That information is available to just about anyone with access to your phone account, with or without your consent.

Rosendale tells of a case CASA had just last week. “The abuser lives out of the county and he called her and said ‘So, I know where you are. You're in such-and-such city and you're in a shelter, aren't you?’ Not knowing he could track that via her cell phone.”

AT&T offers its Family Map service to whoever is paying the bill. From a web browser or another phone, it displays a very accurate GPS fix with a map and satellite view. If the target is indoors, Family Map determines their rough coordinates using the nearest cell tower. While it's marketed as a safety tool for your kids, Family Map allows abusers to use it against their victims.

Laurie Leteve knows it all too well. Her estranged husband, Andre, is accused of shooting their two young children before turning the gun on himself.

Laurie checked the couple's cell phone bill after the tragedy in Scottsdale, Arizona, and discovered her husband had been tracking her phone.

Near Seattle, James Harrison killed his kids, then himself, after stalking his wife. He tracked her phone and found her with another man. He then went home and shot the entire family.

It's the very reason why Bay Area shelters tell women to remove the battery from their cell phone. It stops the phone’s ability to be tracked. They also advise turning off the location-based services on your phone. That way only 9-1-1 and emergency workers can track you.