Can Someone Set Up a Spy Camera in Your House Without You Knowing It?

By Micah McDunnigan

Once the realm of fiction, spyware is becoming mainstream.
i spy camera image by dinostock from Fotolia.com

Spy cameras, small enough to either turn an otherwise innocuous object like a pen into a surveillance tool or fit where you can't see them, have left the realm of mystery-thriller fiction and entered mainstream consumer life. New technologies make it easy for someone to set up a spy camera in your house without your knowledge.

Spy Pen

Modern technology eclipses what was once considered high tech by spy writers; dropping a bugged pen in an ambassador's office may have been neat in the '60s, but today entire cameras can fit in otherwise innocent objects. Pens and sunglasses are only a few of the locations high-tech digital video recorders (DVR) can be hidden. Because the objects they hide in do not look like cameras, setting up a spy camera in your home is as simple as someone being invited in once and leaving a pen on the table.

Nanny Cams

While the term nanny cam can refer to any camera designed to be able to monitor the behavior of babysitters, the stereotypical product is a camera hidden inside a stuffed animal. Similarly, setting up a spy camera in your home could be as simple as the person simply giving you a stuffed animal.

Spouses

When spouses jointly own homes, each of them has the right to set up hidden cameras. These are often used by spouses who suspect their partner of infidelity.

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