Found a weird shortcut for tracking delivery drivers that actually worked

So I was trying to figure out if my neighbor was lying about working for Amazon Flex or if he was just sitting in his car for 3 hours every night. I tried all those GPS tracker apps but they cost like $15 a month or wanted my email. Then some guy on a trucking forum told me to just set up a free Google alert for his license plate number. I typed it in with his city name and boom, got a hit on a local buy/sell page 2 days later. Turns out he was selling used car parts out of his trunk, not delivering packages. Has anyone else found a cheap way to check on weird neighbor behavior without spending cash?

2 comments

2 Comments

eric_carr26d ago

Honestly, is this really that serious? It's just your neighbor sitting in his car. You could have just looked out the window a few times and probably figured out he wasn't working for Amazon. Setting up a Google alert for a license plate feels like overkill for something that doesn't really affect you unless he's parking in your spot or blasting music at 2 AM. Plus, if he's selling used car parts, that's his business. I'd just let it go and save myself the effort.

nora_barnes26d ago

Actually read about this exact thing in a neighborhood safety forum the other day. Someone had a similar situation where a guy was just sitting in his car for hours, and it turned out he was casing houses for a burglary ring. Not saying that's what's happening here, but it's not always just "minding his own business." There was this whole thread about how people who sell car parts without a license might also be dealing in stolen goods, you know, since they don't have any way to prove where the parts came from. That's a real concern for everyone on the block, not just the OP. Plus, setting up a Google alert is pretty low effort compared to, say, getting your car broken into or dealing with shady foot traffic to his garage all day. Totally get why someone would want to keep an eye on things, especially if the guy's being secretive about it.