A Polish environmental charity was stuck with a phone bill of thousands of dollars after losing a GPS tracker placed on a stork. The tracker was subsequently found by a person who removed the SIM card, put it in his own phone, and made over 20 hours worth of phone calls.
Tagging animals is standard practice by environmentalists. It provides invaluable research about the migratory patterns and population numbers of various species. The EcoLogic Group in Poland did this to a white stork last year.
At first, everything went smoothly. The bird flew to North Africa, and the tracker stayed on for over 6,000 kilometers (3,700 mi) before losing contact somewhere in Sudan. Whether the tracker fell off or someone removed it from the bird is impossible to say.
Whoever took possession of the GPS device knew that it contained a SIM card which could be removed and used in cell phones. The person then proceeded to rack up a hefty bill worth $2,700.
