Spy gear used to cheat immigration test

UK - Two men have been jailed after using hi-tech hidden cameras, transmitters and surveillance gadgets to tell candidates sitting the exams the right answers.

The Life in the UK test is the last step towards earning citizenship and those who pass are then entitled to apply for a British passport.

But there are fears unsuitable candidates may have earned the right to settle here thanks to a highly sophisticated scam to cheat the questions.

Participants, who did not understand English, went in to a test centre in Wimbledon library, south west London, armed with a hidden shirt buttonhole camera, microphone and earpiece. In a scam akin to a scene in a James Bond movie, two fraudsters sat outside in BMW car packed with hi-tech equipment and a laptop and directed them to tick the right answers via the secret link.

When police first came across the pair they thought they were running a cashpoint fraud, skimming the cards of unsuspecting users.

But it emerged they were helping Chinese nationals undertake the multiple choice immigration tests in the nearby building. (more)

FutureWatch - Rise of the Franchise Spy

from their press release...
The Spy Place LLC is now developing its Business Model for a Franchise System. Raymond Huck, President and Founder of The Spy Place LLC, has just announced that the new company, The Spy Place Franchising LLC., has contracted with Scott C. Kern, ... to prepare and register a Franchise Disclosure Document to allow the franchising of The Spy Place.

"Since we opened here last October, the ft. Wayne business community has received us very well", Huck said... The Spy Place, is a retail operation that sells and installs affordable Remote Viewing Video Surveillance Systems... The Spy Place, also sells, through its retail store, and soon on its Web-Site, www.thespyplace.com computer tracking software... Vehicle tracking software is something that is also very popular today. The Spy Place sells and installs these units as well... The Spy Place, even sells some "James Bond, gadgets too. Take for instance the neck tie or ball point pen that is a camera, or the pen that is an MP3 voice recorder...

We intend to educate all potential Franchisees with one week hands on training at our flagship store located in ft. Wayne, and continue with a second week of training at The Spy Place University, located at our world headquarters, also here in ft. Wayne, Indiana.

Upon the successful completion of The Spy Place University, the graduate will now enjoy the use of, and the excitement generated from the use of our 'The Spy Place' name.

Spy Shops, have been around for a long time... kindalike adult bookstores. Even the previous attempts at franchising missed the mark: either too self-important, pricey and megalopolitan, or too strip mall-ish. Both came staffed with people who didn't get the used car sales position they really wanted.

The Spy Place, LLC may be different. Even though their debut press release could give a 7th grade English teacher angina, and 'surveillance' is spelled wrong on their youtube video entry, these folks may be the Paul Revere's of their craft. (Paul was a spy and a craftsman.) When heartland America, Indiana, sprouts an out-of-the-closet Spy Shop, you know "spy" is no longer a dirty word.
(youtube commercial; narrated by a Sean Connery Mr. 'T'etanus sound-a-like.)

FutureWatch - Fingerprint 'developer' can read a letter from its envelope

UK scientists have discovered a fingerprint' “developer' which can highlight invisible prints on almost any surface – and read the text of a letter just from the envelope it was sent in.

Paul Kelly and colleagues at Loughborough University found that a disulfur dinitride (S2N2) polymer turned exposed fingerprints brown, as the polymer reaction was initiated from the near-undetectable remaining residues. Traces of inkjet printer ink can also initiate the polymer.

The detection limit is so low that details of a printed letter previously in an envelope could be read off the inside of the envelope after being exposed to S2N2. (more)

FutureWatch - Micro Cameras

Sony Corp commercialized the IMX060PQ, a 12.25-Mpixel CMOS image sensor with an optical size of 1/2.5-inch, for use in mobile phone cameras.

The new image sensor has a pixel pitch of 1.4μm. Sample shipments will start in March 2009 at a price of ¥2,500 (approx. US $25.75). (more)

When these find their way into the production stream it will make the cell-phone-as-a-professional-spy-tool a reality. Also, look for these new sensors in pens and other spycam housings. Yet another good reason to secure your sensitive paperwork at night. ~Kevin

Our Staff Spies a Real Busybody in Philadelphia

No surveillance device escapes the notice of our staff, not even a Busybody. This photo was taken in Philadelphia just the other day.

What is a BUSYBODY, you may ask. As any resident of Old Philadelphia can tell you, the BUSYBODY is a set of three mirrors set in a black metal frame - two mirrors on the bottom and one mirror on top. It is held together by a scrolled iron bar which mounts alongside or under a window, or next to a door, usually on the second or third story of a house (first floor for ranch type houses).

By adjusting the mirrors, the home dweller can see who's at the door below, or what's going on up and down the street or alley, without being seen himself or herself!

Invented by none other than Philadelphia's most famous denizen, Ben Franklin!

Get one of your own!
Attaches to windowsill with 2 screws. Overall height 21". Overall width 12 1/2". Each mirror measures 5" x 6". Sources: Busybody1 Busybody2

Electronic Surveillance Law Overview

US - Privacy: An Overview of Federal Statutes Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping – Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress (164 pages)

SpyCam Story #494 - Janitors Mopped Up

NY - MTA police busted a janitor for using a cell phone hidden in a bathroom stall to videotape more than a dozen women using the toilet at the Stamford train station.

Felicitos Gonzalez, who lives a block away from the bustling Metro-North facility, was arrested at his home and charged with 16 counts of voyeurism, the Stamford Advocate first reported on its Web site.

The perverted scheme was unraveled after a woman found the camera inside a basket of toilet paper and contacted the MTA police. Gonzalez could still face additional charges. (more)

CA - A former janitor has been given three years in prison for secretly videotaping students in the girls' locker room of a Westlake Village school.

Hilario Medina, 39, was sentenced Friday. He pleaded guilty to sexually violating the privacy of children. Eighteen lesser charges were dismissed.

Prosecutors say Medina used a video camera wrapped in a shirt and placed on a maintenance cart to secretly tape at least 18 girls at Oaks Christian School, which has grades six through 12. (more)

SpyCam Story #493 - 15-Years. No Parole.

MO - A federal judge gave the former owner of a tanning salon a 15-year prison sentence for producing child pornography by secretly videotaping teenage girls who were customers of his business. Brett Kent, who owned 360 Degree Tan on East Republic Road, won't be eligible for parole.

He admitted he used a hidden camera to secretly videotape at least 20 female customers, including seven minors, while they used the tanning beds... An employee of 360 Degree Tan discovered video of a customer (a minor female) in various stages of undress, including full nudity, on the business' computer... The employee reported what she found to Springfield police...

The camera lens was mounted inside the fan unit of a tanning bed using Velcro tape, positioned at the foot of the bed. Velcro tape was also found inside the fan unit of a second tanning bed. (more)

Satellite Version of Lo-Jack Proves Worth

UK - A JCB digger stolen in Durham has been recovered in the Netherlands after police followed it around Europe by using its satellite tracking device.

The new £50,000 machine travelled thousands of miles before it was found, journeying across England before resurfacing in the Netherlands and then going to Germany and back. It was tracked and recovered in an operation involving five English police forces as well as Dutch and German detectives.

...eight days after the theft the device switched itself on, telling police that the digger was in Middlesbrough. Four days later the tracker was sending a signal from Lancashire, but by the following day the digger was back in Humberside. The device was monitored by a group called Securi-Guard... then, they knew that it had left British shores, because the signal died.

Pete Stanley, of Securi-Guard, said: “It had been shipped over the North Sea in a container so the global positioning satellite (GPS) couldn’t pick up the tracker device until it had been unloaded.” (more)

$1 million reward for arrest of cyberextortionists

MO - A pharmacy benefits management firm announced that it is offering a $1 million reward for information leading to the conviction of whomever is threatening to divulge the personal information of millions of its members.

St. Louis-based Express Scripts disclosed it received an anonymous letter that included the names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and, in some cases, prescription information of 75 members. The writer or writers threatened to release millions more of similar records if the business failed to pay an unspecified sum of money.

Anyone with information should contact the FBI at (800) CALL-FBI (225-5324). (more)

Spy Coins - You know you want one!

During the Cold War, Spies from both the East and West used Hollow Coins to ferry secret messages, suicide poisons, and microfilms undetected.

On May 1st, 1960 U2 Pilot, Francis Gary Powers, was shot down over the Soviet Union and taken captive. In his possession was a hollow silver dollar containing a poisoned needle that was to be used to take his own life in such a circumstance. For one reason or another, he did not use it and was held for 21 months by the Soviets. He was then exchanged for Soviet spy KGB Colonel Vilyam Fisher (aka Rudolf Abel) at the Glienicke Bridge, in Berlin, Germany.

Colonel Fisher was also no stranger to hollow coins... his original capture by the United States FBI was directly related to a hollow nickel that was used to transport microfilm.

Want one? Become a client. Click here.

Make: Your own spy gear!

No mission is impossible when makers put their minds to it.

Make Volume 16 will help you get smart [Sorry about that, Chief.] with a special section on spy tech. Learn how to build and use tiny surveillance devices, and how to know if a spy is using them on you. From tiny video cameras to sneaky recorders, this volume has enough cool stuff to make James Bond's inventor Q envious.

Coming soon!
On newsstands November 25!
(more) (complete Table of Contents)

Your Security Nightmare - Covert USB Sticks

He has in his pocket a seemingly torn and frayed piece of USB cabling. Who is he? A psycho nerd with his lucky charm, or a spy?

He pulls a cigarette lighter from his pocket. Who is he? A smoker, a pyro or a spy?"

He walks in wearing a nice watch; carrying a USB cable. Who is he? Who knows why? Spy?

"Woh, dude, a cassette tape! But, uh, why does it have a USB cable attached to it?" What do we have here; a Luddite or a Black Knight?

And, that hip flask?!? Or is it? Who is he - a data drunkard, or a spy?
Hint: This is really a 250GB USB drive – disguised as a flask! (more)

The reality is, you really don't know. These devices can carry a small library of your business secrets out the door, and make you smile at the same time. Conversely, they can also be used to inject spyware and viruses.

If you see these in your workplace don't be amused, be suspicious. ~Kevin

from the manufacturer's web site...
"Virtually undetectable spy camera built into classy looking metal and glass wrist watch for James Bond like espionage.

Ever want to go to a dress up party or to the office with a spy camera, but couldn't find the spy tool that you could carry with you wherever you went without drawing attention? We solved this problem for you, with this micro spy camera built into a fancy watch which lets you take spy video without anyone ever being the wiser. Artfully hidden behind the number 2, this mini-cam gives you an AVI format 352x288 resolution clips at 15FPS, and with 2GB of onboard storage, you will get hours upon hours of video.

The watch itself is an elegantly designed full metal watch with a glass face cover, has accurate, gear driven time in seconds, minutes and hours, has a back clasp design for easily taking the watch on and putting it off, and a twisting crown for time adjustment.

Imagine the candid video with sound that you can take without anyone ever being the wiser..." (more)

Why do I mention it?
So you will know what you are up against.

Lady: Bugs in flowers. Bed bugs, too!

MI - James Holland pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of stalking, two misdemeanor counts of attempted eavesdropping and one misdemeanor count of illegal entry, said Steven Hiller, deputy chief assistant prosecutor for Washtenaw County.

Holland had faced more serious felony charges of home invasion and eavesdropping, but the charges were reduced in a plea deal, Hiller said...

Holland's former girlfriend discovered a voice-activated tape recorder hidden in a flower basket on a wall in her home Sept. 4 and contacted the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department, sheriff's Sgt. David Archer said. Deputies interviewed Holland that night and he admitted to placing two tape recorders in his ex-girlfriend's home, Archer said.

"He confessed to a second recorder in the bedroom of the victim,'' Archer said.

Archer said Holland had entered his ex-girlfriend's home with a duplicate key, which he had made before he returned a key she had given him. (more)