I think GPS devices are stealing our fishing spots

A friend sent me an e-mail warning me about a new cell-phone danger. It seems some unsavory characters are hijacking phones and using them to listen to conversations and get personal information. But it could be even worse.

An e-mail came out recently saying cell phones are now being hacked by computer-savvy creeps. I don’t know how true it is, but the word is they can listen to your calls, or they can activate the speaker phone’s mic when you’re not even using it and listen to your every word. According to the report, they can also mine your personal information to steal your identity and take control of your bank account. I’ll buy it when I see it on Fox News.

I really don’t worry too much about it. I never say anything interesting on the phone, or any other time, for that matter. Heck, you ought to know, you listen to me on the radio. And if somebody takes control of my bank account, maybe they can get me out of the hole.

But it made me think about other electronic gadgets I rely on. What if those same dirtbags figure out how to hack into my GPS receiver? I have far more important information in there. One quick scan’ll tell them where my favorite trout stream is. It’ll give them the coordinates to what I think is the most likely spot to get a turkey in all of Wyoming. It even pinpoints twenty or thirty excellent spots to hunt ducks and geese on public land.

No, if somebody hijacks my GPS, my best hunting and fishing secrets will be blown. And I assume I’m not the only one. How many of us program in our honey holes and great hunting spots, and name them so any idiot could figure out what they mean?

I suggest you get your GPS right now and change all the slugs to things like, “Horrible place to fish,” “No deer are ever here,” and “Where I saw Rush Limbaugh naked.” Until there’s a better way to safeguard your spots, that’s the best advice I can give. Good luck.