Are you feeling uneasy in your own home? Do you stop, look around, and feel like someone is watching you? Has someone – who was not present – repeated words from a private conversation? If so, there may be audio and/or video surveillance devices hidden around your home.
Who Is a Target for Placing Hidden Electronic Devices?
Even though it is against the law, as outlined in Florida Statute 934.03, to place eavesdropping devices in a home without the owner’s permission or without the consent of all parties that may be the subjects of the surveillance, it happens more often than you would expect. Some examples include:
A person who is in the process of getting a divorce, and their soon-to-be ex-spouse plants one or more surveillance devices to try to get evidence to use against them. Or, perhaps they are simply vindictive and/or have some control issues. This frequently happens to vulnerable people with angry spouses who are going through the emotional divorce process.
People who have rented an Airbnb have found hidden cameras in their bedrooms, bathrooms, and living rooms. A Miami man found two cameras hidden next to an outlet.
Some landlords plant surveillance devices in order to keep watch on the tenants and the premises.
Executives who own or manage small to large companies, scientists, politicians, or any public figure are susceptible to surveillance devices being surreptitiously planted in their homes.
Anyone can be a target of a person known to them or a stranger for unknown reasons.
If you have any suspicion that you may be under surveillance, it is imperative that you find the illegally planted devices. The audio and video may be stored on the device, or your actions and conversation may be live-streaming to the account of whoever is doing the surveillance. It may live forever in the cloud or find its way to publication on the Internet in some form, such as social media.
Finding Hidden Electronic Devices
You may have some hints that indicate you are being spied on. For example, you might hear a strange buzzing sound that seems to be coming from one of your electronic devices. You look under lamps, radios, televisions, and around your phone. You even look at your wall sockets and light switches to see if a device is hidden there. You are sure it must be there, but you cannot find it.
Resist the temptation to purchase little plastic gadgets with red, blue, and /or green lights. Many of our clients have engaged us to conduct a sweep after purchasing one or two of these spy-shop or online devices. They may pick up some RF, but understand we live in extremely RF-rich environments, and many clients have told us that the device would continually go off, giving off what we call “false positives.” Additionally, if the device is not transmitting RF signals but just recording and storing audio and/or video until later, then even a $30k RF detector will not find that device. Save your money and read our DIY Sweep Method below.
Click the image below to see a living room and where most bugs are hidden.
This will help guide you in your search.
The DIY Sweep Method Daytime.
(You will need a ladder and flashlight.)
First things first, and yes, this will sound silly, but do not talk to yourself about what you are about to do or doing with phrases like, “I’m going to find you.” If you have someone else assisting you, the same advice goes, do not talk about what you are doing. You can talk to each other regarding anything else, like upcoming vacation plans, your children, your favorite book or television show, etc. Better yet, put on a movie or music, and turn the volume up to mask any sounds you will make during your search. The idea is not to alert anyone who is maybe listening to you live on an audio device.
However, if they are watching you on a video, then we suggest other actions. If a person is monitoring the video live, they will see you searching and can remotely turn off the device temporarily.
Next, you will need nothing more than a good flashlight and ladder. If you live in Florida, you most likely already have one of these in your home. If all you have is the light on a cellphone, you can make do with it.
To begin your search, have the flashlight in hand and face one wall. Ignore the rest of the room; nothing matters but that wall. Remove any picture frames, art, and/or furniture from or away from the wall. You are dividing the wall up into small manageable sections, say 3 feet across from floor to ceiling. Now visually, go over the wall with the lights on. Start looking from the floor- up, each section square foot by square foot in a grid pattern from left to right. As you move across the wall, If you find a device or something you do not recognize, DON’T TOUCH IT. If there is forensic evidence (physical or technical), you do not want to contaminate it. Once you are satisfied, and you have checked all of the walls, look at the air vents, thermostat, fire detectors, etc.
Additionally, if you find one device, remember that in many cases it is not the only one that was planted. Keep looking. Put a post-it note or a small piece of masking tape on the wall about a foot away from the object. Now keep moving. Once done, look at any picture frames, art, and furniture you pulled off or away from the wall. Inspect all sides and all angles visually; use your flashlight. If you have a heavy piece of furniture to inspect, be careful; look under and behind. Place everything back on or against the wall. Now repeat this method until you have completed the room. Don’t forget to apply this method to the floors and ceiling. Once satisfied now, move to the next room and repeat this all over again until you have finished with the home.
The DIY Sweep Method Nighttime:
(You will need a ladder and flashlight.)
Now it is nighttime on the same day. During the day, it is easy to visually miss a tiny camera lens. So go back through every room and repeat the search visually with the lights off. Cover every surface with the flashlight in a grid pattern again, as stated above. You are looking for a reflective surface which could be a camera lens. Lenses can be as small as .006 inches. That is like the very tip of a ballpoint pen in size. We suggest taking a break after every wall to give your eyes a rest. This can be very fatiguing, and if you try to do it all at once, you will miss something.
Now, if a camera is there, that means two things, the person at the other end saw the first search. If you did not find the devices during the day, they could now see you searching again. This is why we want you to do both searches on the same day. If you simply just marked the area with a small post-it note or tape but did not disturb the item, the eavesdropper will think you missed his/her devices. But if you stop and photograph the item, you are going to alert them.
Next, if you find something, see if you can identify it on the Internet via some searches. If you really think you have found a device or two that match the device(s) you located, great, you can contact your local police via the non-emergency number. Depending on the size of the agency and the calls for services, this may take a while. But you may try this method. Next, when they arrive, speak to them outside of the space if possible. Tell them that you feel as if you found an illegally placed eavesdropping device and that you would like them to secure the evidence and make a report. In the morning or next business day, you can reach out to an attorney, Ask them what they know about the Security of Communications: surveillance statute 934.03, and tell them that you have found a device and law enforcement has secured the evidence and made a report.
We hope this information has been of assistance to you with conducting your own search. If you think you may have been a victim of eavesdropping, you or your attorney can contact our company for a free consultation. We can help you determine if your suspicions are founded and take the appropriate steps to ensure your privacy is protected. We can also perform a full TSCM Sweep of your home, we can be reached at the numbers on this website or below. As always, DO NOT contact us from the location or a device you believe is compromised. Don’t wait, call us today!
Tim O’Rourke, CPS has over thirty (30)+ years in the profession of safeguarding the lives and secrets of political figures, corporate executives and high net-worth individuals. His experience and research has led him to writing and speaking about the methods and best practices of TSCM / electronic surveillance and counter-surveillance.
Tim is the lead TSCM Tech at TSD the Technical Services Division. TSD is a division of The Grafton Group that focuses on technical and electronic surveillance and countermeasures.