GPS gamers identified as terrorists

The Inquirer
Jan. 19, 2006

POLICE FEARING Al-Qaeda will attack Idaho have come close to shooting those who play the latest technology fad, Geocaching.

Geocaching is a treasure hunt where players use the latest GPS technology to find goodies and clues.

You would think that such a game would not attract the concern of the authorities, particularly when similar fads like Chaos, involved going up to a target and shooting them with a water pistol.MO< But according to Associated Press, Idaho cops, who carry guns, have nearly shot players because they fear they are planting bombs.

Scot Tintsman was surrounded by police as he stashed a green bucket under an Idaho highway bridge last September. He was just about to post the location of the bucket on the Internet so others can find it.

At the time, he was trying to turn off his MP3 player and the cops thought he was going for his detonator. Fortunately they didn’t blow his brains out. Instead he was charged with placing debris on public property and could end up with a $300 fine.

However there have been other cases where bomb squads have been called to geocaches to blow up toys in caches.

Sometimes the gamers have been dumb enough to put such caches near critical infrastructure or public buildings that might be terrorist targets. This is against the rules that have been posted on Geocaching.com.

More here. µ