Olde Hornet
Well-Known Member
Look for plugged-in household items
Our rental house had an overwhelming number of places to conceal a camera — in books, in musical instruments, in the eye of a giraffe sculpture. But LaSorsa said these are not realistic hiding places because they don’t have an enduring power source.“Furniture and decorative items are much less of a concern because they would be battery operated,” he said, “and most battery-operated devices only last a matter of hours.”
On the kitchen table, he displayed a sampling of more viable props for hiding cameras, some of which he bought online and a few that he built himself. The collection featured common household objects that would never raise suspicion, such as a USB charger, a smoke detector and a power strip. The objects all relied on a “parasitic” power source, such as an outlet, and WiFi to activate the camera tucked inside.
LaSorsa stepped outside while Post videographer Josh Carroll and I hid the items around the house. We placed them in plain sight and within context, such as the Bluetooth speaker on the kitchen counter. Back inside, he immediately set to work, scanning the rooms for plugged-in appliances and accessories. However, since we were using his devices, he had a clear advantage.
“The first thing that caught my attention was the carbon monoxide detector plugged into the wall. It’s a normal household item, but we don’t know if it’s legitimate,” he said. “It has power. It was added to the home.”