Showing posts with label #spycam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #spycam. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Airbnb Bans Indoor Surveillance Cameras

Airbnb said Monday that it’s banning the use of indoor security cameras
in listings on its site around the world by the end of next month. The San Francisco-based online rental platform said it is seeking to “simplify” its security-camera policy while prioritizing privacy.

“These changes were made in consultation with our guests, Hosts and privacy experts, and we’ll continue to seek feedback to help ensure our policies work for our global community,” Juniper Downs, Airbnb’s head of community policy and partnerships, said in a prepared statement.

Under the new policy, hosts will still be allowed to use doorbell cameras and noise-decibel monitors, which are only allowed in common spaces, as long as the location and presence of the devices are disclosed. more
You are still on your own to find the covert spycams...

Cruise Ship Employee Hid Cameras in Bathrooms to Spy

A Royal Caribbean cruise ship worker was arrested Sunday in Fort Lauderdale after admitting to planting hidden cameras in guest bathrooms to spy on unsuspecting women and children for months, federal officials say.

Arvin Joseph Mirasol is facing federal production and possession of child porn charges. The 34-year-old also has six counts of video voyeurism, all third-degree felonies, state court records show...Mirasol also admitted to entering rooms and hiding under the bed to record people naked...He remains in Broward jail as of Tuesday afternoon. more
You don't have to be a victim of spycamers. Learn how.

Sunday, March 3, 2024

'Big brother' Satellite Set to Launch in 2025

'Big brother' satellite capable of zooming in on ANYONE, anywhere from space is set to launch in 2025 - and privacy experts say 'we should definitely be worried'

Privacy experts are sounding the alarm on a new satellite capable of spying on your every move that is set to launch in 2025.

The satellite, created by startup company Albedo, is so high quality it can zoom in on people or license plates from space, raising concerns among expert that it will create a 'big brother is always watching' scenario.

Albedo claims the satellite won't have facial recognition software but doesn't mention that it will refrain from imaging people or protecting people's privacy. more

Thursday, February 15, 2024

Man Charged for Putting 'SPY' Cameras in Seattle Expedia HQ Bathrooms

A 42-year-old Lynnwood man is facing multiple felony charges for allegedly putting hidden “spy” cameras in two bathrooms at the Expedia Group headquarters in Seattle...

According to charging documents, Vargas-Fernandez placed cameras under the sink aimed at the toilet in two all-gender bathrooms at the Expedia office building between Dec. 4, 2023, and Jan. 11, 2024. Investigators said at least 10 victims were seen in the illegal footage and believe “several more victims have yet to be discovered.”

When officers searched Vargas-Fernandez’s apartment after his arrest, they found at least “33 various spy cameras carrying from full, partial, no concealment,” according to court documents. Investigators also found at least 22 SD cards and six hard drives with “at least 20 terabytes of storage.” more  video

Corporate security directors, there is an innovative, preemptive, low-cost solution...
Spy Camera Detection Training
 for your security and facilities personnel. It includes a Recording in the Workplace Policy and Inspection Log. Training, a Policy and Inspection Log with show your due diligence in court should an incident 
arise.


Sunday, February 11, 2024

Device Camera's Ambient Light Sensors Can Spy

The ambient light sensors responsible for smart devices’ brightness adjustments can capture images of touch interactions like swiping and tapping for hackers...

Unlike cameras, though, apps are not required to ask for permission to use these sensors. In a surprising discovery, researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) uncovered that ambient light sensors are vulnerable to privacy threats when embedded on a smart device’s screen... An open-access paper on this work was published in Science Advances.

“This work turns your device's ambient light sensor and screen into a camera! Ambient light sensors are tiny devices deployed in almost all portable devices and screens that surround us in our daily lives,” says Princeton University professor Felix Heide, who was not involved with the paper. “As such, the authors highlight a privacy threat that affects a comprehensive class of devices and has been overlooked so far.” more  Interesting, but no need for the average person to worry.

Thursday, February 1, 2024

Crime: Cameras Hidden in a Church Bathroom

UPDATE: U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Thursday sentenced a man who hid a video camera in a bathroom to capture images of a young girl to 25 years in prison. more
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U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Stephen Nicot, 61, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr. to receipt of child pornography...

Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan K. McGuire, who is handling the case, stated that between 2012 and 2014, Nicot hid a camera in the bathroom of a church located in the Western District of New York. 

Nicot positioned the camera so that it would capture video and images of naked individuals using the shower in the church bathroom. He did this knowing some of the individuals would be under the age of 18 and he planned to display the video of the minors. 

...law enforcement executed a warrant at the Nicot’s residence and recovered a memory card and USB drive, which contained videos and images of at least five minor victims using the church bathroom and shower. Two cell phones were also seized, which contained naked images of a minor victim that were recorded by a camera hidden in a bathroom of Nicot’s residence. more
Don't let you or your children become victims. 
Know how to spot hidden spy cameras. 

Thursday, January 25, 2024

Police Can No Longer Request Ring Doorbell Videos via App

Amazon-owned Ring will stop allowing police departments to request doorbell camera footage from users
, marking an end to a feature that has drawn criticism from privacy advocates.

In a blog post on Wednesday, Ring said it will sunset the “Request for Assistance” tool, which allows police departments and other public safety agencies to request and receive video captured by the doorbell cameras through Ring’s Neighbors app. The company did not provide a reason for the change, which will be effective starting this week. more

Monday, January 22, 2024

Widow: Hugh Hefner Had ‘Little Spy Holes’ to Record Celebs

Crystal Hefner has revealed that her late husband, Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, had camera peepholes in his bedroom and even in the foot of his bed
— where he says he recorded sexual encounters with celebrities and high-ranking politicians, apparently without their knowledge...

The revelation is part of Hefner’s upcoming tell-all book, Only Say Good Things: Surviving Playboy and Finding Myself, which is due out on January 23...

In the book, Hefner adds that Hef, who passed away in 2017 at the age of 91, claimed to have tapes of numerous A-list celebrities and “videos of wild orgies, also with celebrities and politicians and business leaders, some of whom were married.”... It has not been reported what Hef did with all those videos... more

Sunday, January 21, 2024

Flight Attendant Allegedly iPhone's Minors in Plane Restrooms

NBC Boston identified the suspect as 37-year-old Estes Carter Thompson III in its report Thursday, noting authorities launched an investigation after a 14-year-old girl said she found an iPhone taped to a toilet seat lid on a flight from Boston to Charlotte...

The minor told her parents about the incident and they reported that information to other crew members. In addition, the father confronted the suspect who reentered the restroom...

Police met the suspect when the plane landed in Boston and it appeared the suspect’s phone had been reset to factory settings. However, officials reportedly found stickers similar to those allegedly seen in the restroom tucked inside his suitcase.

Thompson’s iCloud account also revealed he allegedly had recordings of victims who were 7, 9, 11, and 14 years old, along with photos of an unaccompanied minor.


Not all spy cameras are this easy to detect. SpyCam detection training is a good idea.

Friday, January 19, 2024

Ukraine's Security Service Investigates Bihus.Info Bugging

The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) has announced that it is investigating the circumstances of the illegal bugging and filming of representatives of the investigative journalism project Bihus.Info...

(Numerous of individuals were implicated in monitoring activities, utilizing strategically placed cameras in various rooms. )

On 16 January, a video was leaked online showing employees of the Bihus.Info investigative project apparently using drugs. The project's head, Denys Bihus, recorded a video message giving explanations and stated that everyone who works with Bihus.Info would take drug tests.

Later, Bihus said that after talking to the people involved in the video, it transpired that members of the Bihus.Info editorial team had been under surveillance for about a year, and that fragments of intercepted conversations had been edited together from several episodes that were months apart. more

UPDATE: The media outlet Narodna Pravda, which published an illicitly sourced surveillance video the Bihus.Info team, has removed the video and closed its YouTube channel, Bihus.Info reported on Jan. 19. more

Sunday, January 14, 2024

Grandmother’s Abusers Caught by Hidden Camera

Two sisters caught four care workers abusing their 89-year-old grandmother after hiding a camera in her bedroom...
they put a photo frame with a hidden camera in her room at a care home... 

It caught the workers shouting in dementia sufferer Mrs Wall's face, making fun of her, holding her legs in the air and hitting her in the face with a pillow... "Without the footage we wouldn't have known it was going on let alone prove it happened," she said. more

Thursday, December 14, 2023

Controversial Clothes Hook Spy Cameras for Sale on Amazon

Spy cameras disguised as clothes hooks are for sale on Amazon, despite the firm being sued over the gadgets. 
One clothes hook camera listing seen by the BBC features a picture of the device positioned in a bathroom.

A US judge recently ruled the retail giant must face a case brought by a woman who alleges she was filmed in the bathroom using a clothes hook camera purchased on Amazon.

A privacy expert has said the misuse of such devices may break British laws. Amazon declined to comment on the issue.

The US legal action against the company was brought by a foreign exchange student and aspiring actress... more

Helpful links...
Hidden Camera Detectors – Do They Work?
Spycam Detection Training for Businesses and Individuals (with Spanish, Korean and English closed captions)

Saturday, November 25, 2023

Recent Spy News

Two Palestinians were murdered in the city of Tulkarm and another was murdered in Jenin in the West Bank on Friday under suspicion of spying for Israel... A Palestinian mob can be seen in the videos abusing the bodies and hanging them on an electric pole as crowds surrounded the area, screaming "You traitors!" N12 reported. more

Ukrainian Man Sentenced to 12 Years for Spying for Russia... was found guilty of providing information to the Russian military and sentenced to 12 years in prison, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) said in a Telegram post. An investigation found the man had sent voice messages to Russian forces in the area with information about the location of Ukrainian military units, equipment, weapons storehouses, military bases and headquarters. more

India... right before he was arrested by Gujarat’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) for allegedly spying for Pakistan, Tarapur-based shopkeeper Labhshankar Maheshwari was in conversation with his neighbours. He was telling them that he would be getting his phone back that day, after a nearly three-month investigation, when an ATS vehicle pulled up... Maheshwari was then arrested for “waging war against the Indian state”. more

India... Two former army officers were convicted and sentenced for jail terms over their collaboration with RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) and other anti-Pakistan actions, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Saturday. According to details, the sentencing came under the Official Secrets Act 1923 and the Army Act 1952 on charges of sedition, working against the interests of national institutions and spying for a foreign agency, as Adil Farooq Raja – who served as major – and Haider Raza Mehdi – a former captain – faced court martial. more

A U.S. court held an extraordinary hearing on November 16th, where a judge carefully considered a lawsuit against the CIA and former CIA director Mike Pompeo for their alleged role in spying on American attorneys and journalists who visited WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. more

South Korea says Russian support likely enabled North Korea to successfully launch a spy satellite. more

Poland said Wednesday it had charged 16 foreign individuals with spying for Russia, for allegedly preparing acts of sabotage and gathering information on military equipment deliveries to Ukraine. more

Two suspects have been detained in Istanbul on suspicion of “military and political espionage” for Israeli intelligence. The suspects contacted Palestinian software engineer Omar A. on the pretext of doing business in Turkiye, it was reported on Thursday. more

A man detained in Latvia on suspicion of spying for Russia has died in detention after developing sudden health problems, prison authorities said. more

WIMBLEDON finalist David Nalbandian is being sued by his model ex-girlfriend for sexual harassment and stalking after allegedly installing hidden cameras in the air conditioning. Araceli Torrado, 29, made the complaint against her former partner Nalbandian, 41, accompanying it with a video in which she discovers a camera allegedly set up by the Argentinian... The installation of the camera - which a judge ruled was placed there by Nalbandian - is not a crime as the apartment was shared by the couple. more

Monday, September 25, 2023

Malaysian Police Investigate Spycam Found in Newlywed Couple’s Airbnb

Malaysian police investigate after spycam found in newlywed Chinese couple’s Airbnb room...


The device was installed inside a wall power socket in a room of a lodging establishment in Sabah
The case came to light after the tourists shared their ordeal on Chinese social media

Malaysian police are looking for those responsible for placing a hidden camera within a wall power socket in a room of a lodging establishment in Sabah state where a newlywed Chinese couple had stayed in earlier this month...

A probe had been conducted at the said premises, he said, adding they have seized the spycam in question. more

Sunday, September 10, 2023

Girl Spycam'ed in Aircraft Bathroom - Flight Attendant Suspected

The FBI is investigating after a hidden camera was allegedly found in a bathroom onboard an American Airlines flight.

Massachusets state police said that a "potential criminal act" happened onboard an American Airlines flight that landed at Boston Logan International Airport from Charlotte, N.C. on Sept. 2, but told WSOC that the incident involved a "juvenile, a flight attendant, and a cell phone."

State officials said since the incident happened in midair, the potential crime falls under federal jurisdiction.

Fox affiliate Boston 25 spoke with a passenger on the plane, who said that he saw a teenage girl attempt to use the first-class section bathroom and was stopped by a male flight attendant. "When she was about to go the bathroom he stopped her and said, ‘Hey hold on just a second, we’re about to start collecting trash so I am going to wash my hands,'" the passenger recalled. After the flight attendant left the bathroom, the girl then used the restroom. more

Thursday, July 6, 2023

Lawsuit: West Virginia Police - Spying Using Hidden Cameras on Women & Minors

West Virginia State Police have been accused of planting hidden cameras to spy on women, from active law enforcement officers to recruits training at the academy, some of whom were minors.


Two of the active West Virginia law enforcement officers involved in the civil suit, Brenda Lesnett and Megan Talkington, spoke with CNN...

Lesnett and Talkington are two of around 70 women suing the department after an anonymous letter addressed to the state’s top lawmakers with the allegations was made public in February. Among the allegations of misconduct, which are said to have taken place over a 10-year period, are a hidden camera system set up in the women’s locker room and showers at the West Virginia Police Academy. Some of the possible victims are minors who took part in a junior program. Lesnett and Talkington said there could be “hundreds, if not thousands” of total victims. more

Protect yourself. Learn how you can detect spycams.

Saturday, July 1, 2023

North Carolina House Speaker Installs Spy Cameras

Rep. Tim Moore (R-Cleveland) allegedly used his political influence to bed former Apex Town Councilman Scott Lassiter’s wife, Jamie Liles Lassiter, over the course of their three-year extramarital relationship, according to a lawsuit filed June 18.

After Lassiter, 36, confronted the Republican legislator about the infidelity, Moore allegedly hired an unidentified goon to install a camera on the Lassiters’ Raleigh property earlier this month in an effort to keep the tryst under wraps.

“Defendant Tim Moore and Defendant John Doe willfully and wantonly interfered with [Lassiter’s] property rights and right to privacy by entering upon [Lassiter’s] property in the middle of the night and installing equipment intended to surreptitiously record [Lassiter’s] private actions in his own home,” the lawsuit states.
Lassiter claims to have found the camera inside his flowerbed in the early hours of June 1, on what would have been his and Jamie’s 10th wedding anniversary. more

Thursday, June 29, 2023

Nissan Installed Covert Camera to Monitor No. 2's Home

Nissan installed a camera surveillance system at the home of former executive Ashwani Gupta so the automaker's internal security team could monitor him
, according to the preliminary findings of an investigation into the surveillance, two people with knowledge of the report said.

Nissan has been investigating a claim that Chief Executive Makoto Uchida carried out surveillance of the carmaker's second- in-command to acquire leverage to remove him from the company because of Gupta's opposition to some terms in a new partnership deal with Renault. more

Saturday, June 24, 2023

Man Arrested for Spying on Woman with Drone

RI - The Cranston Police Department announced a convicted sex offender was arrested for spying on a woman through her bathroom window with a drone...

Officials said the woman victim...was preparing to use the shower when she heard a buzzing noise from outside. The woman went to her back yard thinking the sound had something to do with her pool when she noticed a drone hovering outside her bathroom window. When the victim approached the drone, she said it moved quickly in an attempt to get away from her when it crashed into a tree and hit the ground...the victim disabled the drone in her pool and called 911 shortly after. more

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Ring to pay $5.8M - Staff & Contractors - Snooping on Videos

Ring, the Amazon-owned maker of video surveillance devices, will pay $5.8 million over claims brought by the Federal Trade Commission that Ring employees and contractors had broad and unrestricted access to customers’ videos for years.

The settlement was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Wednesday. The FTC confirmed the settlement a short time later. News of the settlement was first reported by Reuters.

The FTC said that Ring employees and contractors were able to view, download, and transfer customers’ sensitive video data for their own purposes as a result of “dangerously over-broad access and lax attitude toward privacy and security.”

According to the FTC’s complaint, Ring gave “every employee — as well as hundreds of Ukraine-based third-party contractors — full access to every customer video, regardless of whether the employee or contractor actually needed that access to perform his or her job function.” The FTC also said that Ring staff and contractors “could also readily download any customer’s videos and then view, share, or disclose those videos at will.”

The FTC alleged on at least two occasions Ring employees improperly accessed the private Ring videos of women. In one of the cases, the FTC said the employee’s spying went on for months, undetected by Ring. more