In an age where everyone is glued to their phones, thieves are counting on people not noticing hidden cameras in their front yards.
Residents in Southern California have found small cameras hidden near their homes, crude surveillance equipment hidden in bushes or in flower pots, wrapped in plastic green leaves and often with battery packs attached. The cameras are hidden by thieves who want to know the schedules of potential victims.
According to law enforcement, the scheme is not unique to any one city or community in the United States.
The Alhambra Police Department posted on Facebook that a resident discovered a camera in the bushes of Alhambra Monday night pointing toward a nearby home in the 1900 block of South Primrose Avenue. Earlier in the day, residents whose homes were within camera range received calls from home security companies saying someone was trying to open their kitchen windows.
No further details about the investigation are available at this time. But the incident illustrates a growing trend: While residents have turned to high technology to protect their homes, so have criminals.
secret surveillance
For decades, police agencies have advised residents to trim hedges around their homes so they can have a clear view of their surroundings and minimize hiding places for intruders. Good outdoor lighting is also recommended to avoid becoming an easy target for thieves.
But now police agencies are warning people to be on the lookout for camouflaged packages in their yards.
Alhambra police noted in a report that thieves could spy on residents by driving through the area or posing as salespeople to see when they were home. But hidden cameras allow criminals to spy on a home without having to hang around. They can then view the video later.
The hidden camera was discovered in bushes in front of a home in Garden Grove.
(Garden Grove Police Department)
“It could be any type of digital wireless camera. It could be cheap; it could be expensive,” said Sgt. Vahe Abramyan of the Glendale Police Department. “You can go to Amazon or Best Buy and buy it.”
The cameras discovered and shared by police agencies in recent months are about a quarter the size of a typical cell phone and are often connected to portable battery packs to keep the devices charged. Most cameras use memory cards, but others connect to mobile hotspots, allowing the device to transfer data remotely, Abramyan said.
He added: “The suspect would go back to retrieve the camera before committing the burglary.”
rare but disturbing
Spotting a camouflaged camera is rare but has happened several times across the South over the past few months.
In late May, a Garden Grove resident discovered a camera hidden in her neighbor’s bushes and pointed it at her home. It’s unclear who left the device.
The homeowner told KTLA news station that neighbors thought they saw some trash in the bushes, but instead found a bag with a camera and a battery pack inside – and it was targeted at her home. She said the incident was disturbing.
Police arrested four men after they were pulled over during a traffic stop in Glendale on the evening of May 20. Their headlights went out. During a search of the vehicle, police found a video surveillance camera and a portable battery charging pack inside a shopping bag. Police said in a news release that the camera and battery pack were wrapped in plastic green leaves. Police found a flower pot on the street with freshly turned soil, which they believe is where the suspect retrieved the camera.
Police also found several boxes used to store jewelry in the car. There was also a construction helmet and a vest that could have been used to approach the house without attracting attention, police said.
The men were identified as Bryan Martinez Vargas, 28; Jose Antonio Velasquez, 28; Edison Are Pinzon Fandino, 27; and Luis Carlos, 29, according to police Luis Carlos Moreno and Luis Carlos Moreno were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit burglary. Police said the men were members of a “tourist theft” group. The gangs, composed of Chilean and Colombian nationals, used surveillance equipment as part of a strategy to break into homes in wealthy neighborhoods, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a report.
Vargas had previously been involved in a high-speed chase when Glendale police responded to a report of a home invasion in the Crescenta Heights neighborhood, authorities said.
In police dashcam video, a man police say is Vargas jumps out of a vehicle parked at a highway exit. During the pursuit, police discovered objects thrown outside the vehicle, including a device designed to interfere with Wi-Fi signals, according to the department.
Abramyan said thieves use Wi-Fi jammers to disrupt home surveillance equipment that is usually connected via wireless networks. These jammers may disable doorbell cameras that are not hardwired into the home’s electrical system.
Abramyan said it is illegal to possess jamming devices, but not to sell them. Jammers are not difficult to buy online.
Don’t be complacent
Security consultant Rick Navarro said the discovery of the hidden camera, while an isolated incident, has attracted media attention. That’s a good thing, he said.
“These … are good conversations that people can have,” said ACS Home Security’s Navarro. “You don’t want to see people become complacent about home security.”
Navarro said that in the security industry, customers often call ACS after a breach.
“The responsibility falls on the individual to protect their property,” he said, “because it’s really a cat and mouse game.”
But there are steps you can take to protect yourself. Here are tips from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and Los Angeles Police Department:
- Make it a habit to regularly check around the exterior of your home and be aware of any suspicious activity nearby.
- If you discover a hidden camera, call your local police agency immediately to record and collect the device.
- Switch from wireless to wired. Anyone who wants to block Wi-Fi interference can ask their network provider or electrician to hardwire their burglar alarm system with a cable that connects it to the router.
- It might be wise to put an electronic tracker inside some of your valuables. The Los Angeles Police Department recommends using Apple Air Tags or similar trackers, which can be placed inside objects such as wallets or jackets and tracked through smartphones.
- Protect your circuit breaker. Residents can purchase padlocks for their circuit boxes to prevent thieves from easily gaining access and interfering with alarm systems.
- Make break-in more difficult.
