SpyCam Story #614 - Recent SpyCam News

OH - A Catawba man was arrested and jailed Monday after investigators say he used a covert camera to record two girls in the shower at his home.

Jack Lee Maley, 45, of 350 N. Champaign St., was taken into custody and charged with three counts of illegal use of minor in nudity oriented material or performance, second degree felonies. One of the juveniles found the camera and reported it to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. Further investigation revealed that a second juvenile female had also been captured on video as she showered. Neither juvenile was aware they were being recorded. (more)

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CA - A Southern California computer repairman suspected of installing spyware on laptops that enabled him to snap and download photographs of women showering and undressing in their homes was arrested Wednesday at his home, police said.

Police began investigating when a Fullerton resident complained about suspicious messages appearing on his daughter's computer last year...

The software sent fake error messages telling users to "fix their internal sensor soon," and "try putting your laptop near hot steam for several minutes to clean the sensor," Goodrich said. (video) (No blond jokes, please.)

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KS - Hiding in plain sight, a camera recording people without their knowledge or consent. Police are trying to figure out who put a hidden camera in the changing room of the north YMCA. It was hidden inside a clothing hook.

"Someone bumped into it and if fell off and discovered it was a camera," said Lt. Randy Reynolds of the Wichita Police Department. (more)
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CA - A man arrested by Glendora Police for placing a spycam in a Starbucks restroom in Glendora pleaded not guilty in a Pomona Superior Courthouse Tuesday morning.

William Zafra Velasco, 25, was arrested May 4 after he confessed to installing a hidden camera disguised as a plastic hook in a women’s Starbucks restroom in Glendora. (more)
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OH - A 59-year-old Tallmadge man was sentenced to seven years in prison Monday for using his cellphone to film a 13-year-old girl getting out of the shower.
Summit County Common Pleas Judge Paul Gallagher sentenced William Chesrown to prison after he was found guilty by a jury on May 16 of gross sexual imposition, two counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material.

The prosecutor said in December the young girl noticed Chesrown's cellphone pointing at her with the record light on as she got out of the shower. She discovered five nude videos of herself saved on the phone. (more)

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FL - The manager at a Starbucks store in the Brandon Town Center mall called police after finding a device left behind in the cafe's public restroom.

It turns out it was a camera -- but the apparent spy was not as sly as he thought. Police say he left the camera rolling as he got in his car one day, giving them a glimpse of his license plate.

Eric Efaw was arrested and charged with voyeurism yesterday. Police say he admitted to putting the camera in the unisex bathroom, and that he's done it six to seven times in the last two months. (more)
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These stories are presented to raise awareness. The enclosures continue to become more clever. The picture resolution is now HD. Features include: still shots, movies, motion detection, automatic uploading, SD card memory, low-light vision, audio, wireless and more. And, they are inexpensive. Remember, the spycam stories that become news are just the failures. Each story could represent hundreds of successes. Take a moment to see what you are up against. (click here)

Last Month in Spycam News

TX - The Dallas Cowboys recently paid a $2.4 million settlement stemming from allegations of voyeurism against Rich Dalrymple, the team's former head of public relations, levied by several members of the organization's cheerleading squad. more

A cautionary tale... I was retained this past year as an expert witness in a spy camera case. The client was a victim of a spycam secreted in a chain restaurant restroom. I am pleased to tell you our side just won their lawsuit. The defendant settled for an undisclosed amount.

Businesses that have expectation-of-privacy areas need a Recording in the Workplace Policy and an inspection program in place.

Canada - Police are searching for a suspect after a woman reported being recorded while in a change room at a Metro Vancouver mall. more

Canada - Man jailed 30 months for hiding 'spy cameras' in bathroom to catch his roommate’s teen-aged daughter. more

UT - A man suspected of using his phone to film a female in a North Logan Walmart changing room was charged in 1st District Court on Friday. more

Canada - A former property manager in the Annapolis Valley has pleaded guilty to a charge of voyeurism involving a two-way mirror. more

S. Korea - Co-published by TIME and Field of Vision, the documentary Open Shutters follows Jieun Choi, a journalist in South Korea investigating the country’s plague of spycams. more

Canada - A 23-year-old man has been charged after allegedly hiding a cellphone in a women’s washroom at an Ajax hospital. more

CT - A local man was charged with voyeurism Saturday after a juvenile discovered a cellphone hidden in the bathroom of a residence. more

FL - On March 10th, OPD released a video of 28-year old Justin Wright setting up a camera at a Circle K gas station in the city. more

Singapore - After getting away with taking upskirt videos at a shopping mall because the victim did not report him to the police, a Singaporean man continued committing voyeuristic acts on colleagues and his in-laws. more

OH - Ex-funeral home owner pleads guilty... he installed a camera in the women’s bathroom at the former Slack and Wallace Funeral Home. more

UT - Ex-Sandy Fire captain faces 15 felony counts, accused of secretly filming girls undressing...he had been “hiding cameras in a home business space where teenage girls would undress,” more

TN - Families Notified Of 30 Cleveland Middle School Girls Captured On Covert Camera Placed By Teacher more

FL - Man placed phone on bottom of shopping cart, recorded under women’s dresses at grocery store. more

UK - Former Leeds soldier who hid spycam in girls' changing room jailed after admitting voyeurism charges. more

Singapore - Ex-NTU researcher jailed for taking upskirt photos of 400 women over 6 years. more

Northern Ireland - A disgraced guest house owner who narrowly avoided jail after he was caught filming men and boys in toilets is now challenging the sentence that kept him out of prison. more

Singapore - Ex-teacher jailed 10 weeks, fined for taking voyeuristic videos of colleagues, students and policeman more

Vietnam - A woman from Vietnam hacked off her husband’s penis after using a spy camera to see him indulging in inappropriate behavior with his niece. more

Reddit - Looks like my cat Beans found the pet cam I set up to spy on him from work. video

FL - A Sarasota acupuncturist ...used a spy camera that doubled as a functional pen to record the patient undressing. more

SC - A Virginia Beach man has been arrested for allegedly recording inappropriate video of a student on the Medical University of South Carolina campus. more

UK - Hospital chiefs say they have been working closely with police after a man was charged with filming a woman in its toilets, and then attempting to blackmail her on social media into paying £1,000. mor

WA - An Oregon man has been sentenced to more than six years in prison for recording people using the restroom at a Vancouver hospital and possessing child pornography. more

AR - Ashton Jaleel Thomas, 26, of Springdale, was arrested on suspicion of committing multiple acts of video voyeurism at the changing rooms in a Rogers Goodwill store. more

Singapore - A 40-year-old man used spy cameras to film videos of female friends and co-workers using the toilet in several locations, including his home, his friends' homes and his workplace. more 

• You don't have to be a victim. Learn how to spot spycams in places where you expect privacy.
  

SpyCam stories have become commonplace and the techniques used, repetitive. We continue to keep lose track of the subject for statistical purposes, but won't bore you with too many details. Only links to the stories will be supplied unless there is something useful to be learned.

FREE - The Murray Associates "Spycam Detection Training Course"

I've created a special Covid coupon so anyone can take our Spycam Detection in Workplace Expectation of Privacy Areas, absolutely FREE. (Normally $24.99)

The coupon code is our main website address: COUNTERESPIONAGE.COM

This is a one-hour, self-paced video course, with Certificate-of-Completion. More details about the course at spycamdetection.training or Udemy.

Or, jump straight to the start with this coupon encoded link:
https://www.udemy.com/course/spycam-detection/?couponCode=COUNTERESPIONAGE.COM

Feel free to pass along this limited time offer on to anyone you know: co-workers, friends, and family—anyone who does not want to be a victim of video voyeurs.
(Expires 04/16/2020 06:04 AM PDT (GMT -7))

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

Ask the Consultant - Spycam Question Received this Week

"Have you ever been called upon by a client to check for unauthorized or hidden cameras?
And to that end, is there some technology available to security professionals (not what the Secret Service uses) that can identify wireless cameras?" 

Yes. The video voyeurism craze had prompted requests from corporate clients, country clubs, private schools and religious institutions (usually in response to an incident), and occasionally pro-actively, for due diligence purposes.

DIY detecting cameras in situ can be accomplished in several ways...

Spycam finds courtesy Murray Associates.

1. Physical inspection - If you know where a spycam is likely to be looking (bathroom, bedroom, office, etc.), stand there and do a 360º turn. The camera will be in your line-of-sight (take into account mirrors).
2. Look for the lens - This may be accomplished with this device, or with this app. Neither solution is 100% effective, however.
3. If the device is not recording internally, but broadcasting a FM radio-frequency signal, there are these detectors 1 2 . Neither solution is 100% effective, however.
4. If the camera is transmitting to the Internet via Wi-Fi (popular with the baby monitors), detection options 1 & 2 are the best bet for the amateur sleuth. A professional TSCM team will be able to conduct a Wi-Fi analysis to absolutely detect the transmitter.
5. Thermal imaging is also very effective for finding "live" cameras (as opposed to the battery powered ones that just snap photos upon sensing movement). This has become affordable this year with the introduction of this iPhone add-on.
6. Call us. In addition to Wi-Fi analysis, we also use Non-Linear Junction Detection (NLJD), more sensitive thermal imaging, and spectrum analysis detection techniques.

You may also want to read this.

by Kevin D. Murray CPP, CISM, CFE

SpyCam Story #610 - Starbuck's Naked Shot

Police said Friday they are still looking for dozens of victims recorded by a hidden camera found in a women's restroom at a Glendora Starbucks.

William Zafra Velasco, 25, allegedly used a plastic coat hanger spycam to record at least 45 women, said Glendora Police Chief Rob Castro. Some of those victims were juveniles, said Castro.

The device has a tiny camera hole atop the hanger, with two holes for audio and a USB hookup in the back. It is similar to the spycam seen here. (more)

SpyCam Story #482 - Free SpyCam Gadget

Using Vista?
Using a Logitech Webcam?
Bingo!
Instant spycam.

from Logitech...
"Keep a watchful eye—even when you're not around. This Gadget acts like a motion detection sonar, triggering a recording whenever it senses movement within the field of view of your QuickCam. Recording stops when the motion stops, and an .AVI file is saved in a location you specify. The videos are even time & date stamped to help you keep track of what happened, when." (more)

The important stuff – "...an .AVI file is saved in a location you specify."

Make sure no one loads this on your computer without your knowledge. They could be collecting movies and storing them elsewhere on your network, or the Internet. Very bad for computers located in offices and bedrooms. ~Kevin

Korean YouTuber Hailed As A Hero For Catching “Spycam Perverts”

...And Turning Them In To The Police... 

The problem of the ‘spycam epidemic’ in Korea is nothing new. For years, it has been debated over by activists and politicians, but it continues to victimize folks whereas perpetrators use the footage to promote to others and even blackmail victims. It has gotten to the purpose the place many lists of tips for vacationers going to Korea typically emphasize vigilance towards spycams, as it’s an uncomfortably frequent prevalence, particularly for ladies.

Now, a Korean YouTuber is taking issues into his personal arms. As reported by Korea-based freelance journalist Raphael Rashid, this native hero has proven he has a knack for locating males who’re illegally filming ladies. He typically catches them after which arms them over to the police, even when the boys beg for mercy. more

BTW, the on-line video course SpyCam Detection Training has Korean subtitles.

Another TSCM Fail - Spycam in Girl's Changing Room - No Follow-Up

Here we go again and again. For the third time in two months a spy camera is discovered and the ball is dropped. In the last case—after assuring everyone they searched and the room was now safe—a second spycam was found two weeks later, in the same room!

In this case, the police declared, "There is no current evidence to suggest that other restrooms or private areas in the multi-tenant facility were compromised." 

No mention of a competent Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM) sweep to back up this lame claim.

TN - An investigation into a camera set up in a girls' changing facility has revealed 60 victims as of Thursday afternoon, police in Tennessee said. 

The GoPro camera — which was found hidden in a girls' changing and restroom at Premier Athletics which offers training in cheerleading, dance and gymnastics — was reviewed by police after it was found last week. Sixty females, mostly minors, were recorded on the camera, police said...

Working with facility management, detectives have identified 47 of the 60 victims and are in the process of notifying their parents. Detectives are working to identify the remaining 13 victims.The girls' changing and restroom at the center of this investigation is located inside the Premier Athletics suite. There is no current evidence to suggest that other restrooms or private areas in the multi-tenant facility were compromised, police said. more

A good investigator will tell you... "If you find one bug or spycam there is a possibility there are others. Keep searching."

A good attorney might tell Premier Athletics... "You now have foreseeability. Conduct and document regular inspections of your expectation-of-privacy areas.

Professional Recommendation — Premier Athletics, and similar businesses, need to create an in-house TSCM inspection program. It's cheap, it's easy, it's great for public relations, and it's especially good for staying out of court. Everything you need to know to get started is here.

SpyCam Story #583 - Pushed to Suicide

NJ - Rutgers University students wore black on Friday to remember a classmate who committed suicide as a lawmaker proposed stiffer penalties for invasion of privacy - the charge levied against the roommate accused of secretly streaming online video of the victim having sex with a man. (more)

When SpyCam Story #1 was published laws against video voyeurism didn't exist. Although many states now have laws, more has to done. I hate posting tawdry SpyCam stories, but do so to raise awareness. The victims deserve the support.

SpyCam Story #507 - Bowling for Blackmail

via gizmodo.com...
Like the Rovio, WowWee's Spyball is a Wi-Fi-enabled spycam robot. But it transforms from sorta conspicuous ball to spycam for surreptitious shots. You can connect ad-hoc via Wi-Fi or over the internet.

The Spyball™ spy-cam is a remote controlled, Wi-Fi enabled, transforming robotic ball that introduces an element of play to telepresence functionality. Affordable, easy-to-use, and rechargeable, the Spyball spy-cam captures video and still images and is equipped with sleek wheels for fast, smooth mobility and 360-degree turns. Transforming from ball to camera and back again, the Spyball spy-cam moves with stealth and in disguise – perfect for spying on siblings or peeking into the kitchen. (more)

SpyCam Story #436 - SpyCam Goes to School

from "blammocamo"...
"I 'hid' my camera and caught some clips of what people were doing during spare period." (boring video) (many many more boring videos)

We've come a long way from the days of Alan Funt. SpyCam'ing is an acknowledged worldwide pass-time. One second you are anonymous, the next second your are a star on youtube.com. Laws are always about 10-years behind the technology. Look for spycams to make some creative legislation.

In the meantime, at least take some steps to protect your workplace and the intellectual property kept there.

Ideas...
- Establish security policy which includes videography.
- Conduct periodic sweeps for video bugging devices.
- Learn to recognize the spycamer's tricks. (1) (2) (3), for example.

SpyCam Story #575 - Not Feeling Lucky Anymore

India - The Swedish model Lucky Farmhouse, who used a spycam to expose her boyfriend Yaniv Benaim's links with Goa police, says she has enough to establish a clear nexus between the police and Goa's notorious drug mafia.

"I have not put out all the (spycam) recordings because I need to save those in case they will be coming after me. If they make any problem for me in the future, I will put it out," Lucky said in an email interview from Sweden on Monday.

The 33-year-old model, who was living-in with Atala, had shocked the Goa police after she posted her boyfriend's clippings on social networking website youtube.com. (more) (more)

BBC Spycam Documentary

In a new BBC documentary Stacey Dooley Investigates: Spycam Sex Criminals.

The crime no doubt happens all over the world, but is actually one that has been sweeping South Korea lately, as many have been found guilty of planting recording equipment in public places and then charging people to view the footage online...

The upcoming documentary will see our fave reporter look into the subject head on to give us an insight into the voyeuristic practice and how now, with such advanced technology, it's easier than ever to hide cameras in public places.

Some of the cameras being used are as small as the head of a needle and are so difficult to spot, but Stacey will be taken on patrol with an experienced spy cam hunters to uncover hiding places.

Stacey Dooley Investigates: Spycam Sex Criminals will be available on iPlayer from 6am on 1st April - something to add to your quarantined watch list. more

The Case of “Eddie Spaghetti” and the First Spycam News of 2020

We are only halfway through, the first month, of the first year, in a new decade... and the spycam pandemic is off to a roaring start. 

Like corporate espionage and other forms of illegal electronic surveillance, only the failures make the news. The vast majority of illegal covert electronic surveillance goes undetected.

Learn how to spot spycams and keep scheduling your corporate TSCM inspections.

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Canada - Edward Casavant, 55, (who gave himself the nickname, “Eddie Spaghetti”) pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, making child pornography, voyeurism and sexual exploitation of a person with a disability, and was sentenced to six years in prison. more

OH - A former Hillsdale Middle School and High School art teacher convicted of voyeurism was sentenced Tuesday to 180 days in jail. more

CA - Peterborough man charged with voyeurism after allegedly using electronics to peer through windows. more

Singapore - The alleged victims of a Singaporean undergraduate accused of illicitly filming 12 women want a gag order on his identity to be lifted, despite being fully aware of the risk of being identified. more

ID - Kory Ray West, the 34-year-old man accused of concealing a video camera in the bathroom of a Blackfoot home where he had been staying, and of stealing items of underclothing from bedrooms, could serve up to seven years in prison for his crimes. more

NY - The husband of a New York prosecutor who filmed his child's nanny on bathroom spycam, could have charges against him dropped, after he claimed he only used it to watch himself undress. more

HI - An $8,000 project to install covert security cameras in the Council Chambers of the county building in order to monitor an active shooter or hostage situation was kept secret from most council members and the public, county officials said. more

CA - Ring of fired: Amazon axes multiple workers who secretly snooped on netizens' surveillance camera footage. more

KY - A former teacher at a Kentucky high school admitted to filming students in a bathroom...

Police...reported finding a recording device set up in the bathroom of the nurse's station. Police said the video recorder captured the person putting the device in place. more

MI - A Canton man pleaded guilty last month to three felony charges associated with illegal voyeurism at an Aqua-Tots swim school in his hometown... Police said they were dispatched to the Canton Aqua-Tots swim school for young children...because a woman saw a recording device targeting her changing stall. She reported her suspicions to staff. more

UK - staff and parents with children at Denmead Junior School were in shock at the grim discovery of an iPhone in a vent. Action was taken by the school. A 23-year-old man from Waterlooville (was arrested) on suspicion of voyeurism. He has been released under investigation. more

CT - An investigation that began in South Windsor in August that led to a Manchester man being charged with voyeurism after filming people in a locker room at L.A. Fitness resulted in more charges being filed against him Friday stemming from similar incidents in Farmington, police said. South Windsor police said that Selby had placed his cellphone in one of the lockers and left the door open. more

CA - A Desert Hot Springs man who was previously required to register as a sex offender pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of filming people inside a grocery store bathroom in Cathedral City...10 misdemeanor counts of unlawful use of a concealed camera to secretly videotape.... 2013 - Prosecutors alleged he concealed a video camera in a paper bag and entered a woman's restroom in a Los Angeles Macy's department store dressed as a woman and secretly videotaped women using the restroom. more

Wales - A sportsman who once represented Anglesey in the Island Games has admitted installing a camera in toilets where people, including youngsters, got changed. more

Weird SpyCam App Pitch of the Day

from the app seller's web site...
"SECURET SpyCam 1.5.4 helps you to turn your android phone camera or webcam into a visual motion triggered Spycam. Your device will automatically capture any motion being occurred in your area and saves it. You may spy on your friends to avoid some problems. Also it helps to arrest Criminals or thieves." (more)

Why do I mention it.

So you will know what you are up against.

Recent Spycam News

AR - A Northeast Arkansas man accused in a video voyeurism case pleaded guilty Monday. more

CA - Former Rancho Palos Verdes building inspector accused of secretly recording 89 people in City Hall, Starbucks restroom. more

DC - Fifty-two women secretly videotaped by an Orthodox rabbi in Georgetown between 2004 and 2014 as they undressed to immerse in a mikvah, a Jewish ritual bath, will get $25,000 each if a settlement reached between them and four Jewish organizations is approved by a D.C. judge. more

FL - Fort Myers Arthrex employee secretly recorded co-worker using bathroom. more

FL - A man who installs security systems for a living is accused of setting up hidden cameras in a home and recording hundreds of videos of women in the shower. more

Fl - A teacher and girls track coach left Bloomingdale High School in handcuffs on Tuesday after deputies said he admitted to secretly recording students in his fashion design class as they undressed. more
 
KY - A former teacher at Holy Rosary Catholic School in Evansville has pleaded guilty to six charges in a voyeurism case. more

PA - Philadelphia man sentenced to 20 years for secretly recording his girlfriend’s two daughters in bathroom. more

TX - A father suspicious of what was going on at his son's daycare sent the baby rigged with a spycam. His suspicions turned out to be right. more

UT - Salt Lake man charged in changing room voyeurism case. more

VT - There are new allegations against the former Rice Memorial High School teacher charged with secretly taking cellphone photos up students' skirts. more

WA - A Western Washington University employee, who committed suicide this week, had been accused of secretly video-recording two adult basketball players inside a locker room shower. more

WA - A man who videotaped a young girl as she was showering was sentenced to serve 90 days in jail for voyeurism. more

WV - Women's basketball players were photographed secretly in nude by assistant coach/residence hall director. more

Belgium - Every year, police records more acts of voyeurism. In 2016, 366 offenses were recorded, and even 857 in 2017, while in 2014 and 2015, the figures were respectively 108 and 112. more

Canada - Peterborough police have arrested a man on a warrant for several charges including voyeurism involving a woman he once had an intimate relationship with. more

Canada - A British couple vacationing in Toronto were horrified to discover a spy camera hidden in a digital clock at their rental apartment. more

Japan - Kumamoto Prefectural Police have arrested a male civic employee over the alleged illicit filming of a female high school student. more

Singapore - Apart from new laws to tackle the issue of voyeurism, various stakeholders such as malls and security companies should step up efforts to deter the use of hidden cameras in public toilets, said Members of Parliament (MPs) and activists. more   Finding spycams in the workplace.

South Korea - A spycam was discovered in the room for actress Shin Se-kyung and Apink’s Yoon Bo-mi while they were shooting for new variety program “Borderless Food Cart.” more

South Korea - Public toilets an issue of concern in South Korea for thousands of women. more

SpyCam Apps and Gadgets - The Evaporation of Privacy

The smartphone spycam app market is booming. Recording gadgets are being built into everything (see previous story). You can no longer count on someone looking obvious while taking photos, recording movies or just recording sound. 

Tip: Be like the CIA. If you care about your privacy and/or the confidentiality of your surroundings, don't allow any type of foreign electronics into the area.

An android app from one seller's web page...

The silent spy camera. Take pictures quickly and silently with a mini preview display overlay for ultimate discretion. Have you ever wanted to take a picture but didn't want to use the noisy and conspicuous built-in Android camera app? Taking a picture of a questionable practice at work, a restaurant worker mishandling food, a camera-shy family member, or maybe your secret crush?

Secret Spy Cam is for you!

- 3 discreet preview sizes
- Runs as an overlay over any other app
- Single-tap picture taking
- Single-tap quick app exit
- No shutter sound while still allowing your phone to ring for incoming calls
- User manual available from the app's menu (more)

Examples of video from a high definition spycam sunglasses, key fobs, etc. (video) (video) (video)

This Fortnight in Spycam News

WA - A pastor and teacher at a Christian school in Washington state was arrested earlier this week and charged with filming hundreds of voyeurism videos of female staff and students. more

UK - A voyeur was locked up after being caught with 169 video clips taken by a spy camera set up to film an unsuspecting woman. The penalties were imposed when he appeared before magistrates in the city. They were told the offence came to light when the camera was discovered and police were alerted. more

ID - A Ketchum man has been charged with one felony count of video voyeurism. A recording device found in the bathroom of a residence at the Wildwood condominium complex. The recording device was found by a guest who was staying at the residence at points between April and June, with her daughter.    The woman told Lundergreen that the device was located in the bathroom wall outlet and disguised as a USB charger. more
Japan - The secretary general of a local assembly in Yamagata Prefecture, northwest Japan is fired for voyeurism in a women's bathroom at town hall. more

PA - A West Chester University student was arrested after police said he hid a cellphone in public bathrooms in several locations, including one at West Chester University, and recorded women in various stages of undress. more

LA - A former WAFB employee who secretly recorded two female station employees using the restroom in 2017 was sentenced to four months in prison Tuesday. He was immediately handcuffed and led to prison. more

New Zealand - The man who filmed women using the shower in his Airbnb homestay then uploaded the videos to a porn site has lost name suppression and has been sent to prison for four years and four months. more

New Zealand - A home handyman who used his position of trust to spy on a female friend in her bedroom has been sentenced to three months of community detention. The offending...involved Williamson hiding a camera inside a toolbox that he left in the woman's bedroom, which he left there after performing maintenance duties in her home. The device was discovered by the woman, who contacted the police. more

FL - In a case involving allegations that a man placed hidden cameras in his adult stepdaughter’s bedroom, an appeals court Friday overturned a conviction on video-voyeurism charges because police improperly obtained evidence from a laptop computer. more

CT - A man who entered a neighbor's home through an unlocked door and allegedly installed video cameras in four spots in the home has been arrested by police. An investigation revealed that Pelgrift had entered the home and installed the videos cameras while the woman was not home. She happened to notice a camera and called the police, state police said. more

FL - Investigators say they have uncovered an extensive amount of videos and images of under-age students secretly filmed while undressing by a Bloomingdale High School teacher who was arrested last month on a video voyeurism charge. Mark Ackett, 50, who resigned as a fashion design teacher, now faces an additional 353 charges. He was first arrested on Sept. 11 — the same day a 17-year-old student in his class discovered two cell phones hidden in the classroom changing area where she and her classmates disrobed for fashion assignments. more

 S. Korea - South Korea is in the grip of a 'spycam' epidemic, with covert footage of sex, nudity and urination posted online in what amounts to a "social death penalty" for thousands of women forced to live with a pornographic shadow. The footage may be taken surreptitiously by boyfriends or captured on covert devices as small as car keys. Daily camera checks are now part of life for cleaners in many public toilets. more

FL - A massage therapist was arrested over the weekend and charged with video recording a female customer disrobing prior to an appointment. ... Further investigation indicates that Scott had placed a cellphone in the massage room to video record the customer while she was undressing. more

NM - A Dona Ana County man is facing time behind bars for hiding video cameras in bathrooms and capturing video of victims using the restroom, showering, and changing clothes. ... Police say Ikard's face was even seen on some of the videos as he worked to set up the cameras. more

UK - A retired company director who covertly filmed a young woman getting changed at his luxury home has been jailed for eight months. Allan Austin, 66, installed a hidden spy camera at his home in Cheshire because he 'liked the figure' of the victim. When officers searched Austin's £500,000 detached house in the village of High Legh, near Knutsford, Cheshire they found the hidden camera which was linked to his computer and iPad. more

The above cases represent only the failures, the ones that got caught. The problem is much larger. Learn how to protect yourself and your children.

A video spycam (with audio recording) we found last Friday at a corporate location...

 

Now, on to the Extortionography cases. Hey, the elections are here, and the tech fists are flying.

ND - James O'Keefe's Project Veritas released a new undercover video on Tuesday night showing vulnerable Sen. Heidi Heitkamp's (D-ND) campaign staff exposing her as being a far-left candidate while she has tried to portray herself as being centrist, saying, "when she gets elected she's going to be super liberal." more

VA - A conservative group that creates undercover “sting” videos infiltrated the campaign of Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat in a tight race with Rep. Dave Brat in Virginia’s 7th District. more

AZ - A right-wing operation that creates secretly recorded videos targeted Democratic U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, who's running a tight race for U.S. Senate, releasing a video Monday with several clips of the representative and her campaign workers making candid off-the-cuff comments. more

MO - An undercover video exposed a Democrat senator's re-election campaign for secretly taking donations from Planned Parenthood. The video, from conservative activist group Project Veritas, shows campaign workers for Democrat Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri talking about how Planned Parenthood funnels money to McCaskill's campaign through other organizations. more

CA - New undercover video appears to show signature gatherers pitching falsehoods to voters get them to sign petitions that would force the massive Newland Sierra development to a public vote. more

Thanks for subscribing to Kevin's Security Scrapbook (see top right column). ~Kevin 

2022 Spycam News... (so far)

 Japan - 'Bar set low for secret filming' The reason police in Japan commit voyeurism... It seems there is no end to police officers being subjected to disciplinary measures for taking sneak footage. As law enforcers who are in a position to crack down on camera voyeurs, why do they partake in such crimes? The Mainichi Shimbun asked an expert... more 

UK - Professional photographer Roy Strutt, 64, installed a USB dongle with a hidden camera in the bedroom of his second home in Walberswick, Suffolk. He later invited a couple - who his wife knew through a friend - to stay at the property to celebrate their ninth wedding anniversary. The couple saw the dongle and unplugged it - with Strutt later telling them to plug it back in because it helped improve the Wi-Fi for the surrounding apartments. more

LA - A Vidalia, Louisiana, man.. has also received additional charges... illicit videos involving a juvenile taken by way of a hidden camera... investigators found evidence of a video voyeurism set up by way of hidden camera, which illegally recorded inappropriate videos of a juvenile. more

Singapore - Domestic helper jailed 17 months for filming elderly man in shower, uploading clips to TikTok, WhatsApp... One video was re-posted by an unknown user on a Facebook page titled SG Dirty Fella where it went viral. more

UK - A senior Metropolitan Police officer who posed as an airline pilot and fake glamour photographer to picture up to 51 naked women has been dismissed from the force. Detective Inspector Neil Corbel, 40, took covert videos of his victims in hotel rooms, flats and Airbnbs... He 'used his anti-terror skills' to secretly film the women with spy cameras hidden in tissue boxes, phone charges, glasses and keys after contacting them under the guise of being an airline pilot named Harrison. more

China - A male doctor live-streamed a patient’s gynecological procedure on a China video-sharing website without her knowledge, raising a wave of questions on medical ethics and privacy violations. more

UK - Scots student warns pervert stepdad will always be danger to kids after dodging jail for spying on her when she was 13... It came after the creep smirked as he was spared prison last week for secretly filming his stepdaughter thr­ough a gap drilled in her wardrobe. The predator also recorded her through the keyhole of a chest and a lens hidden in an alarm clock while on a family holiday in the US. more

WY - A 33-year-old Campbell County man has been charged with nine counts of voyeurism after he allegedly set up a recording device in a bathroom and took pictures of a female getting in and out of the shower and bathtub. more

Canada - Durham Regional Police have charged a man in connection with a voyeurism investigation in Pickering, Ont... police were called to a Walmart store ... after a man was discovered videotaping a female customer as she was using the change rooms. Police said the suspect was confronted by the victim and her family and said he had deleted the photos from his cellphone before fleeing. However, police added there were other photos on his phone of other possible victims and are asking for the public’s help in identifying the man. more  more

LA - A Sulphur man was arrested after a recording device was found in the women’s restroom of a local restaurant Tuesday, according to information from the Sulphur Police Department. The device was found before anyone in the general public was captured on video, according to Sulphur officials. more

CT - A Vernon man is being charged after police say they discovered he put cameras in his home bathroom and secretly recorded his girlfriend and her children... a few years ago, two of the children, who were 13 and 18 years old at the time, discovered a bluetooth speaker in a bathroom that was actually a hidden camera... After the children found it, they secretly swapped out its SD card and delivered the card to a friend’s house for safekeeping, the warrant said. more

 FL - The businessman who filmed two naked women in an adjoining Key West, Florida hotel room has been sentenced to a year in prison for his felonious voyeurism, court records show... charged with sliding a tiny camera under the door separating his room at the DoubleTree Grand Key resort from that of two female vacationers, according to an arrest report... Cops found the spy camera hidden in a chair cushion. more

 WA - Former county fire marshal faces felony voyeurism charges... The charging documents allege Nicholson had hidden a camera in a sleeping area at the station, filming a female firefighter changing before getting into bed. When contacted by the detective, the firefighter that was depicted in the film stated she had not given consent to being filmed. The detective investigated the room and discovered an outlet that matched up with the angle of the video, although there was no recording device present when he inspected the outlet. more

UK - Robert Davies, 32, came to the attention of National Crime Agency investigators in 2019 after he purchased a number of cyber crime tools, including crypters and remote administration tools (RATs)... Davies was infecting his victims’ phones or computers with malicious software by disguising it with the crypters so their anti-virus protection would not detect it. He then used the RATs to gain remote access to their devices and steal any sexual images (mainly of females) they had stored on there. On at least one occasion, he used his illegal access to spy on a teenage girl through her webcam, turning the encounter into a number of indecent images. more  more

General - Laws on surveillance cameras at home can vary by state. As there’s no comprehensive set of regulations that govern residential security cameras or video surveillance, it’s essential to have a broad understanding of the concerns involved with these systems and devices. It’s just as important to know the laws at the state, county, and even local levels. more

The Epoch Times - Video Report: Spy Cameras, Blackmail Rampant in China more  

These stories are presented to raise awareness.

Spycam Facts:

• Only the failed video voyeurs make the news.
• Most spycam attacks go undetected.
• A few are discovered... almost all by accident.
• Only a few of these are reported to the police.
• Only a few of these cases are solved.
• Only few of these make it to my desk.
• I only share just a few of those with you.
• The problem is bigger than you think.
  

Any organization with expectation of privacy areas needs this to protect their employees, visitors and customers ... and themselves, from forseeability law suits.