Stalkers using GPS to keep an eye on their victims

A national study shows at least one in 12 women have been stalked at some point in their lives. Now the same technology you may use everyday to find out where you're going has made it easier for stalkers to target victims. The GPS devices have the National Organization for Women in Arkansas concerned.

In 2000, one of the first cases in Colorado shocked many. Police say a stalker had a GPS tracking device installed to check his victim's location.

Since then there have been reports across the country. In Wisconsin a headline warns "stalker victims should check for GPS” after a man was arrested for installing a satellite tracking device. The victim said, "He told me no matter where I went or what I did, he would know where I was."

Then, just this year in Kansas City a 20-year-old man was arrested and charged after the victim told police she found a GPS device hidden on her gas tank.

"Technology is great but there are so many places to breach privacy,” said Nicole Casey. Casey, with the National Organization for Women, says while there have been no official reports of something like this happening here, she wouldn't be surprised if it has.

"A lot of these women aren't reporting and if they report one incident it doesn't seem like that big of a deal, but women need to report this over and over and over until people realize it's a situation they need to look into," explained Casey.

The devices are hard to find because they're small and easy to hide anywhere on your car, so you have to look for the signs.

"People showing up somewhere and maybe they act like it’s random, but if you keep seeing someone where you are. People calling you saying they know where you are," Casey said.

The devices are easier and easier to buy because the price keeps coming down. For about $200, a stalker can get real-time tracking info sent straight to their computer, including where you are and how fast you're driving.

Stopping the stalker isn't easy. If you find the device, it's not easy to prosecute because it's hard to prove who put it there and why. Casey thinks it's something lawmakers and law enforcement need to address before it becomes a bigger problem.

"Because it's GPS stalking as opposed to abuse, violence, it's not being taken as seriously. So I think it does need to be taken more seriously. And as technology grows we have to find ways to kind of reign it in," Casey said.

There are no laws dealing with GPS stalking on the books or in the works in Arkansas but a bill in the legislature now would strengthen the state's general stalking laws making the definition clearer and toughening penalties.

Casey says if you think someone may have tagged you with a GPS device, get your car checked out by a professional who you trust.