Claim:   Criminals at gas stations are handing out key rings with transmitters that enable them to track potential burglary or carjacking victims.

Status:   False.

Examples:   [Collected via e-mail, August 2008]

Please be advised that there are people handing out keyrings at intersections and stop streets. These keyrings have tracking devices in them. Kindly refuse them as you would be able to be followed if you accept it. Please pass this on.   WARNING: this happened to Andre yesterday. He put petrol in his car and the petrol attendant gave him a key holder — Free! Back at work he noticed something funny — a copper plate standing out. It had a sticker on the key holder, he pulled it off. With the key ring being transparent, he noticed a type of SIM card inside. He opened the key holder just to find a miniature transmitter which works with sun power. He took it to the Police Station and the Police said that they were aware of it — it is used to follow you home and hijack your car/break into your home.

Origins:   The above-quoted warnings about crooks handing out free key rings or key fobs that are actually small (solar-powered!) transmitters, used to track potential victims for later burglaries and carjackings, began circulating in August 2008. Aside from some technologically questionable aspects to these warnings, one prominent point of skepticism is the lack of obvious utility behind the scheme — that is, how would the ability to track unknown, randomly-selected motorists facilitate the commission of burglaries and carjackings? Especially since both of those crimes are overwhelmingly crimes of opportunity, engaged in as perpetrators spot or stumble across their chances, rather than crimes typically pursued through the elaborate staking out and tracking of targets.

In this case we don't need to engage in any skeptical speculation, though, because we know the origins of this rumor: It began with the free distribution of completely innocuous, (light-activated) flashing keyrings at gas stations in South Africa as a promotional device for gasoline retailer Caltex (a brand name of the Chevron Corporation), and the claims of criminal activity associated with those key rings are completely false:

E-mails flying through the electronic ether in South Africa warning of "tracking devices" fitted into free key rings are false and fuel retailer Caltex is infuriated that its promotion at service stations has become a victim of urban myth.

Police spokesperson Superintendent Vincent Mdunge said such claims were untrue and police are now investigating where these e-mails originated from.

"It is purely a hoax and motorists need not have any fears. Such assumptions are really ludicrous. We will definitely open criminal charges against these hoaxters once they are caught."

Caltex reassured customers that key rings being handed out at petrol stations do not have tracking devices on them and that this was part of a brand awareness campaign to promote Caltex's "Power Diesel brand", said spokesperson Miranda Anthony.

"We have been running a Caltex Power Diesel promotion through our service station network. Caltex branded key rings were issued to our diesel customers as part of this promotion. These are novelty items and have a flashing device meant to create product awareness."

An example of a Caltex Power Diesel promotional key ring can be seen in the following video:


In a nutshell: Yes, a South African gasoline retailer has been giving out free "solar" key rings; no, the key rings do not have transmitters and aren't being used by criminals to track potential victims.

Last updated:   1 September 2008

The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/crime/warnings/keyring.asp

Urban Legends Reference Pages © 1995-2009 by Barbara and David P. Mikkelson.
This material may not be reproduced without permission.
snopes and the snopes.com logo are registered service marks of snopes.com.  

---

  Sources:

    Gounden, Fiona.   "Caltex Hit by Urban Myth."

    Independent Online   30 August 2008.