Eavesdropping Spouse
There is no doubt that do-it-yourself home security technology has changed the way we live in recently years for the better. But as wonderful as it can be, it can bad when turned against us and used in nefarious ways.
Several years ago, we were called to the home of an estranged wife. She reported that her husband had left the country several months prior to live with his family, but when she spoke to him on the phone, he seemed strangely aware of everything she was doing and saying to her friends and family, and even, she explained, to her attorney. She recounted him quoting something she had recently said while on the phone to one of her friends too. She was all-but-sure that her husband had somehow bugged her cellphone.
Our investigators sat down with the woman and performed a Digital Security Assessment. This assessment consisted of a comprehensive interview and an on-site examination of the client’s electronic devices. In this case, they also performed a scan of the woman’s home Wi-Fi system. In doing so, we quickly identified an unfamiliar, active device accessing the system.
In doing so, we quickly identified an unfamiliar, active device accessing the system.
The investigators searched the woman’s home and low-and-behold, found an active IP camera hidden under the couch in her living room. It was plugged into a nearby wall socket and fully operational. The device’s camera was not able to view anything from where it was located, but its microphone could easily pickup anyone speaking nearby, enabling the spy to listen to live conversations from thousands of miles away in real time. The client informed our investigators that she would often sit in the chair next to this couch and talk on her cellphone with her family and friends. The device was unplugged and collected as evidence, and the woman’s privacy was restored.