WATCH ABOVE: Some people in Sherwood Park cannot believe how the search engine’s map helped would-be thieves target their trailers. Fletcher Kent reports.
EDMONTON — For many, Google Maps has become a go-to navigation tool for finding anything from a great new restaurant to a friend’s location. However, it has recently been put to peculiar use tagging the locations of trailers that would be easy to steal.
A member of a closed group on Facebook shared a screen capture on Wednesday of a tag she found on Google Maps. She had heard of an incident where a trailer was stolen in her area and wanted to find out how close it was to her. She couldn’t believe what she uncovered.
A photo she shared on social media showed tags on her Google Map with information about the state and location of her trailer as well as other trailers in her area. The tags can provide turn-by-turn directions to selected locations – in this case: her home.
The post has made some residents in the area a bit wary of keeping their trailers at home. In fact, some have even been advised to keep their trailers elsewhere.
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Jamie Sulatyski, a member of that Facebook group, is doing just that.
Sulatyski and her husband own a business that requires them to use a large cube van truck.
After seeing the post, she searched for her own address out of curiosity. A tag appeared that said “large van, small lock, easy break” in blue. When she clicked on the tag, she saw a picture of her home.
“Not even 10 to 15 minutes later, I was about to pick up my phone just to contact my husband and let him know and an RCMP officer came to the door and let me know that we had been tagged and that they were looking into what’s going on,” she said.
She says the officer also suggested not parking the vehicle on the road in front of their home anymore.
Sulatyski and her husband have decided to park their vehicle elsewhere because it contains equipment crucial to their livelihood.
“It just feels like a violation.
“You think you’re safe, and we have home security, but you never know,” said Sulatyski. “We are on a busier street and there are constantly people around but these guys are good, some of them, and unfortunately there’s a lot of moms and families that have lost a couple of their trailers that we know of here.
“It just sucks. It felt like I’m being watched and it’s not comforting – especially when I have children at home.”
The RCMP told Global News it is aware of the issue but does not feel there is a need for concern at the moment.
“From what I understand, anybody can go on to Google Maps and tag certain businesses and residences at their leisure, so I’m not sure where this will continue in the future, but we haven’t seen this as a problem as of yet,” said Cpl. Chantelle Kelly with Strathcona County RCMP.
“We’ll keep an eye on it,” said Kelly. “Information, if it’s brought forth, will be looked into, but there’s no ongoing investigation.”
The tags in question have since been deleted.
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