This is a bit of a grey area legally, because, much like attaching a GPS tracking device to a vehicle to monitor movements, tracking someone via their cell phone does require permission from the person who owns the phone.
While there is a dearth of technologies out there to track cell phones, in order to actually use them in an investigation legally, is where the legalities of doing this come into question.
Another thing is that there would have to be someone who is able to activate the GPS capability on the phone, which means they’d have to be close to the person they want to track.
Let’s look at a few answers to the question; can private investigators track cell phones?
Can private investigators track cell phones?
In certain instances, using any type of GPS tracking system, whether via a cell phone or vehicle, can be considered illegal, which then renders any evidence gathered useless.
What could make it a crime in certain instances is the fact that we do have laws that protect our right to privacy, however, if you work with a professional private investigator, he will know about legal ways in which he can use cell phone tracking as a highly effective tool for pinpointing where someone is at any given time.
Why people use cell phone tracking
There are a variety of reasons that someone would request a private investigator to track a cell phone. In terms of helping a private investigator to pinpoint exactly where someone’s phone is, can go a long way to making surveillance a lot easier.
Cell phone tracking is extremely useful in cases that involve a missing person, a cheating spouse and even in insurance cases that could involve fraud.
Who does the phone belong to?
Many employees use company cell phones, which means that the employer can give permission for the private investigator to track the cell phone. In cases that involve family matters or infidelity, being able to track a cell phone is made a lot easier if the phone is registered to the partner who suspects their spouse is cheating.
If there are problems like drug abuse or other criminal activities in a family, if one of the people in the family is willing to enable tracking and use the phone to track the person under investigation, then it can be considered legal.
Choose to speak to a professional private investigator
Although there are highly specialized software programs that can be used by private investigators to track a cell phone, it’s become easy for virtually every Tom, Dick or Harry to track a cell phone.
This is unfortunate, as this can help criminals too! If someone is stalking you and they have the right program, they won’t have a problem tracking your movements via your cell phone if they’ve been able to gain access to your phone.
If the cell phone is set up to be a transmitter, there are no limits to what someone can do to track anyone’s cell phone.
Before you start planning to track a cell phone, speak to King Investigators! This is a team of private investigators in Johannesburg who play by the book, ensuring that everything they do in carrying out undercover surveillance, including whether or not they can track a specific cell phone, is done with integrity.
With over ten years in the industry and being registered with the PSiRA, you can trust any advice this team gives you when it comes to any type of investigation, including the use of cell phone tracking.
Contact the owner of King Investigators, Jacques Botha for a confidential chat about your case. You will not regret speaking to this experienced professional before you make any decisions that could land you in hot water!