This Month's SpyCam Darwin Award - Shot While Spycaming

NY - An Erie County man has been arrested after spying on his neighbors with his cell phone.

Investigators said David Schindley's phone had more than 50 videos held closely to the windows of bedrooms, bathrooms or other rooms. The videos go back to this past October.

Schindley was taken into custody on Sunday after he was shot by a homeowner on the 500 block of Bald Eagle Drive. Deputies said the homeowner heard a noise and thought Schindley was trying to break into his home.

Schindley was shot in the leg, the homeowner who shot the suspect was not charged. more

Recent Spy Camera News

A radiologist at a private practice has been spared jail after stashing his mobile phone in an air vent to record patients using the unisex toilet. more

An Orleans Parish judge dealt several setbacks late Tuesday to a prominent New Orleans breast reconstruction surgeon who faces rape and video voyeurism charges. Dr. Alireza Sadeghi, 41, is accused of raping and surreptitiously filming his now-estranged wife and of videotaping four nude patients in the operating room without their consent. In at least one instance, prosecutors claim, Sadeghi forwarded the footage to a friend. His trial is scheduled for March 20. more

A Utah man and student at BYU-Idaho has been accused of placing a small camera in the bathroom of a Rexburg apartment where six female students live... Rexburg police say a small camera was found hidden inside a towel hook mounted in the bathroom. more

A handyman who was jailed for 24 weeks after he hid a spy camera in a woman's bathroom after being invited round to fix her banisters is appealing his conviction... The court had heard Burnett, 41, planted the covert device in a vase in the victim's bathroom and could control it using an app on his mobile phone. When the victim went to change the flowers in the bathroom two months later she discovered the device and contacted the police. more

Some Indiana lawmakers suggest drone users with nefarious intentions could be flying under the radar under existing laws. ...the proposal creates a “remote aerial voyeurism” crime and addresses penalties for sex offenders operating drones inappropriately. more

Shaun Turner accessed his victims’ personal webcams but was caught by the Eastern Regional Operations Unit (ERSOU) following a tip-off. Turner, 29, of Race Course View, Cottenham, was used a malware system known as a Remote Access Trojan or ‘RAT’, a court heard. The RATs used by Turner enabled him to download all files held on his victims’ computers – including personal pictures, videos and identity documents. In addition, he deployed software to victims’ computers that streamed live images taken by their webcam to his own computer to view. more

TV News Report: Peeping Toms Go High-Tech with Covert Cameras

When it comes to hidden cameras, cellphones are just the beginning. 12 News had two well-known licensed private investigators show us just how covert cameras have become...

So the question is, with cameras being so available and affordable – is there any way to protect yourself from being spied on without knowing it?

He showed us one of several products they have to detect hidden cameras.

The basic device uses a red strobe light to reflect light off the lens of a camera that may be hidden in an object.

They also sell radio frequency detectors which can help detect any wireless signals.

Still, according to our private investigators, neither detection method is full proof.

“There is no sense of protection in terms of a cure all,” George said, “if somebody wanted to set up a camera without your knowledge and you weren't inquisitive - you would never know it was there.”

He says simple awareness and just being inquisitive is your biggest weapon. more with video report

Learn how to discover covert spy cameras yourself.

Town Supervisor Resigns, Pleads Guilty to Felony Eavesdropping

NY - Geddes town supervisor Manny Falcone has just pleaded guilty to felony eavesdropping for ordering his secretary to illegally listen to conversations among others in the town hall...

Falcone admitted he ordered the audio capabilities on a town hall security camera to be activated so he could eavesdrop between February and September 2016. The camera was located in the main entryway of the building. more

Security Director Alert - Peeping Tom Drone - A Cautionary Tale

NH - Two women who live in the same building say they spotted a drone flying over their skylights last weekend and fear the device’s operator could be spying on them.

The women said they immediately told their landlord they feared someone was using drones to spy on them. The landlord was concerned a “Peeping Tom” may be in the area...

Police say if the drones were spying on the women, the operator could face charges because it would be an invasion of privacy. more

Security Directors: News reports about Peeping Tom drones are plentiful. That's because they see people, and people see them. 

What is not so publicized are drones peering through office windows to collect intelligence... like posted passwords and conference call numbers. 

An after-hours clear desk, clear whiteboard policy is more important than ever now. If corporate culture won't support that, how about a close the blinds at the end of the day policy. ~Kevin

Secretary Arrested for Eavesdropping — Now Her Boss Suddenly Leaves

NY - Several town councilors confirm Supervisor Manny Falcone announced a sudden leave of absence at a meeting Wednesday evening...

Councilors say Falcone oversaw the duties performed by his former secretary Ellen Colelli. Colelli was arrested weeks ago, accused of eavesdropping. The felony charge brought by State Police accuses Colelli of listening to town employees by using video surveillance equipment that was installed inside the Geddes town office building...  Falcone has not been charged with a crime. more

Spycam News: Security Check Nabs 'Moonlighting' Spy

TX - An employee of the National Security Agency in San Antonio is facing prison time for taking his agency's spying mission a little too far...

James Johannes pleaded guilty in Federal Court in San Antonio on Thursday to sneaking around outside the homes of his neighbors, and using his smart phone to take videos of little girls who were undressing, peeking through their windows and open doors.

Johannes was nabbed in a rather unconventional way. He was attending a meeting at Fort Sam Houston, and as he left, military police asked to check his cell phone. It is standard procedure to check the cell phones of people in secure areas to make sure there is no classified material on them.

The guards found videos of an underage girl getting undressed and stepping into the shower.

Other similar images were found on Johannes' cell phone, and one of the girls recognized him...because he was a youth leader at their church. more

Japanese Singer Calls Police to Report Spycam... gets arrested.

Fallen Japanese pop star Aska has been arrested on drugs charges after calling police to tell them he was being spied on at home by a hidden camera, police and reports said Tuesday.

The singer -- one half of folk rockers Chage and Aska -- was slurring on the call when he insisted he was being watched, Jiji Press and other media said.

Police who visited his Tokyo home on Monday arrested the 58-year-old on suspicion of using stimulants and MDMA, a force spokesman told AFP. more

Spycam News: Multi-Millionaire Landlord Pleads Guilty to Secretly Filming his Tenants

Australia - A multi-millionaire Sydney landlord will face sentencing next month after pleading guilty to charges relating to secretly filming his tenants without consent to obtain sexual arousal.

Masaaki Imaeda, 66, installed hidden cameras into his rental properties so he could spy on tenants having sex or undressing...

After finding a warning about Imaeda and his spy cameras on a Japanese website, a husband and wife who rented a bedroom from him found a camera in their bedroom light fitting.

The young couple called police, who found multiple other hidden cameras inside the house...

He faces up to two years in prison. more

UK - A Starbucks customer in London was left “shocked and disgusted”* after finding a hidden camera above a toilet in a branch of the coffee shop. 

Ricci Arcari, 33, was at the Starbucks in Vauxhall when he spotted the device hidden in an air vent directly above the unisex toilet.

He told The Independent: “I go in [to the store] regularly. I ordered my drink and while I was waiting I popped in to use the toilet.

“I was standing using the toilet when I noticed a little glint Iike the way glass reflects.

“I stood on top of the toilet seat to get a better look and realised it was a webcam or some other kind of recording device.”

Mr Arcari, who used to work for Starbucks himself, said he ran out of the toilet, asked to speak to the store manager and showed him the camera.

The manager seemed “pretty shocked” and reportedly said “Oh God, that’s not good".

The device was immediately taken down and placed in a bag to be passed to police. more

 * May also be applied to the dirty air vent grill.
Protect yourself.

Double Creepy

Oklahoma City Police arrested a man
accused of creeping around an apartment complex and spying on people. The suspect is a funeral director and embalmer.

News 9’s Adrianna Iwasinski got a copy of both the police report and court record from last Friday's arrest, and it states that police found a gun under the man’s driver's seat and they also found a video camera. more

Business Espionage Problem: Car Spy Photographers Using Drones

...automakers are looking at ways to put a stop to this practice.

Click to enlarge.

One answer may be coming from the German company Deutsche Telekom, which is working with developers on ways to keep drones out of certain areas.

The American company Dedrone also has a DroneTracker system that can locate drones more than half a mile away. We're sure that more creative and interesting means of inhibiting drones are coming down the road as well. more

Surveillance Camera Installer 'Scopes It Out'

NJ—A 38-year-old Franklin Township business owner... Thomas Canales was arrested at his South Lawrence Avenue home in the Somerset section of Franklin Township...
 
He owns a security based company "Scope It Out" in Somerset, according to authorities, who also charged him in connection with his work installing a surveillance system at a private residence.

The charge of "computer theft" came after he installed a surveillance system in a customer's home, and then monitored the residence from his computer and mobile phone. more

When the porn hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a-problem.

WA - Ferino’s Pizzeria owner Adam Burns says he may not reactivate the interactive part of his Facebook page ever again after it was hacked and photos of female employees using a restroom were posted online.

Burns said he first thought that someone was prank-calling the Port Hadlock business, but then he looked on the business’s Facebook account and “it was blowing up with disgusting comments.”

The videos showed females, in various levels of undress, using the restroom...

Brett Anglin, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office detective, confirmed that the sheriff's office received a call from Adams about a video recording device having apparently been used inside an employee restroom...

Deputies came and checked the restaurant for hidden cameras. Burns did not reopen the restaurant that day.

“They found nothing,” he said. “Whatever was in here is gone now. Never in a million years did I feel like this would happen here. It's like it's not real,” he said. more 

WA - Redmond Police arrested a 25-year-old lifeguard for allegedly taping a cell phone to a wall in the female locker room of Redmond’s Hartman Pool.

Redmond Police said the man was suspended from his job and prohibited from returning to the property as detectives continue their investigation. A female coach discovered the phone and immediately called 911. more

IN - The man accused of recording topless women in his Granger Tiki Tan tanning salon pleaded guilty to four felony charges; three counts of voyeurism and one count of obstruction of justice. Albert Reasonover was arrested in April when an alleged victim discovered she was being filmed during a spray tan. more

Spycam News: Video Voyeur Builds Spy Camera into Toy Jukeboxes—Gives them to Kids

FL - Deputies with the Lake County Sheriff's Office seized various equipment after Robert Anthony O'Hare's arrest last year. Through the seizure, they learned O'Hare had placed hidden cameras in two miniature jukeboxes that were later delivered to children.

"They didn't go through the post office, it looks as they he hand-delivered them," said John Herrell, with the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

The hidden cameras were used to film the children unbeknownst to them, according to deputies.

"As long as they (the jukeboxes) were plugged into the wall, those cameras were activated," Herrell said. "He could use a remote control and remotely control what the camera was viewing."

O'Hare is accused of producing hundreds of videos using a telescopic lens and camera found in his closet during a search of his home in October 2015, deputies said.

Hundreds of downloaded pornographic videos involving adults were also found on his devices, according to authorities. O’Hare is also accused of downloading child porn at a coffee shop. more

The Real Whole Spy Catalog

A confidential, 120-page catalog of spy equipment, 
originating from British defense firm Cobham and circulated to U.S. law enforcement, touts gear that can intercept wireless calls and text messages, locate people via their mobile phones, and jam cellular communications in a particular area.

The catalogue was obtained by The Intercept as part of a large trove of documents originating within the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, where spokesperson Molly Best confirmed Cobham wares have been purchased but did not provide further information.

The document provides a rare look at the wide range of electronic surveillance tactics used by police and militaries in the U.S. and abroad, offering equipment ranging from black boxes that can monitor an entire town’s cellular signals to microphones hidden in lighters and cameras hidden in trashcans. more

The original Whole Spy Catalog.

Video Camera Video

Tiny video cameras are fascinating...

Spycam News: Gawker Smacks Down on Monday

Gawker, the best known part of Gawker Media, but apparently the least salvageable, will not be welcomed aboard the lifeboat that Univision has sent to the sinking company in the form of a $135 million bid for its assets. The site will cease publishing on Monday, according to a person familiar with the situation...

Gawker's nearly 14 years' worth of media-world scoops, amusing rants, gratuitous take-downs and occasional investigative gems will be archived, according to a memo company founder and Chief Executive Nick Denton sent to staffers Thursday announcing the site's closure.

"We have not been able to find a single media company or investor willing to take on Gawker.com," he wrote. "The campaign being mounted against its editorial ethos and former writers has made it too risky. I can understand the caution. Gawker.com may, like Spy Magazine in its day, have a second act. For the moment, however, it will be mothballed, until the smoke clears and a new owner can be found."...

Gawker Media, which declared bankruptcy in June after losing an invasion-of-privacy suit brought by Hulk Hogan. A Florida jury awarded him $140 million in the case, which revolved around a sex tape of the wrestler, whose real name is Terry Bollea, that Gawker published.  more

Mom Alerted - Daughters' Bedroom Nanny Cam Streaming on Internet

A mother from Texas was horrified to learn that the cameras she used to keep watch on her 8-year-old girls had been hacked and were being live streamed on the internet.

She made the appalling discovery after she found a screenshot posted by another woman on a Facebook group for Houston Mothers, who was trying to alert mothers after stumbling across a free app ‘Live Camera Viewer.’ ...

According to security experts, her private cameras had been hacked by accessing the household’s IP address through her daughter’s iPad whilst she was playing a video game, and was consequently live streamed to an online feed.

The feed, which is sorted according to the number of ‘likes’ that users give, had been available since July, and had 571 ‘likes,’ meaning at least that many people had been watching it over the course of the stream.  more

Tristan Payton: Highly touted wide receiver — and criminal hunter?

That seemed to be the case this week after the Central Florida wide receiver chased down a man accused of filming teenaged girls in a bathroom on campus, CBS Sports reported.

The girls were attending a cheerleading camp Wednesday at UCF's basketball facilities on campus when they saw a phone recording them inside a bathroom stall.

They told their coach and staff members, saw the man with the phone and chased him, with UCF police soon joining the pursuit.

The man, identified as 21-year-old Jonathan J. Hui, evaded police and the staff but was soon caught by Payton, who saw the commotion and joined the chase.

Payton quickly snagged Hui's phone before he could delete any information on it. more

Professor Accused of Spying on Students Found Dead

An NYIT professor accused of spying on students in the bathroom has been found dead days after his arrest.

Law enforcement sources tell News 12 the body of Professor Jackie Conrad was found in his Harlem home last night.

The 39-year-old had been arrested last week after police say a camera was found hidden inside a handicapped stall at the school’s health care center in Old Westbury. more

An autopsy will determine his cause of death, but police suspect he killed himself, according to sources.

Conrad, a professor at New York Institute of Technology, planted a camera disguised as a pen in a handicapped-accessible bathroom at the school’s Old Westbury campus in Nassau County on July 13, according to a criminal complaint. more