A New York homeowner found a hideous object in front of his house while gardening last week, setting off a trend that’s spreading across the country.
The unidentified homeowner spotted a camouflaged camera hidden in the bushes outside his home in the upscale Scarsdale neighborhood last Sunday, This was reported by CBS News.
Police say the camera was camouflaged in fake green and connected to a mobile hotspot to broadcast surveillance footage. Burglars across the country are using these hidden cameras to map out opportunities to break into homes or steal vehicles.
It is now believed that the group that planted the cameras in Scarsdale originated in South America. Local police are being assisted in their investigation by the FBI and Homeland Security.
The discovery has caused concern among some residents.
A New York homeowner found a hidden camera in the bushes outside his house
According to police, it was camouflaged in fake green and was connected to a mobile hotspot to broadcast surveillance footage.
“The bad guys are ahead of us,” Scarsdale resident Steve Samtur told CBS News.
He added that some neighbors are now checking their bushes for hidden cameras.
“I think so, and Scarsdale in general will be more vigilant because of all this,” Samtur said.
However, officers noted that there was no evidence to suggest a break-in had taken place in the city and that no other cameras were found in the rest of the Bradford Road area.
Scarsdale resident Steve Samtur said the discovery has neighbors on edge
The incident is just the latest in a series of burglars installing hidden cameras, like this one, to monitor homes.
The incident is just the latest in a series of burglars installing hidden cameras to monitor homes.
In May, a woman in California also found a camera camouflaged in a bush pointed at her house.
The woman, identified only as Lisa, told KTLA Her neighbor had pulled out a bag containing a camera with a battery, which he pointed straight at her house.
“She thought someone had thrown trash in her bush, so she went to clean it up,” Lisa said.
‘As she got closer to the bush, she grabbed a bag and inside was a camera with a battery.’
The camera was focused on her family’s house.
Outside Boston, a neighbor found a hidden camera pointed at a house that had been burglarized two weeks earlier
The discovery came just a day after she saw on the news that four men had been arrested with a similar camera after Glendale police stopped a vehicle without headlights.
A search of the vehicle found a “video surveillance system” with a “battery pack charging system camouflaged with leaves,” police said.
Glendale police said in a statement: “This evidence, combined with the discovery of freshly turned soil in a planter in the cul-de-sac, led Glendale detectives to believe the suspects had strategically placed the camera in the planter.
‘This method allowed them to develop an advanced method of getting a picture of the homes and knowing when homeowners would leave.’
The suspects have been identified as Bryan Martinez Vargas, 28, Jose Antonio Velasquez, 28, Edison Arley Pinzon Fandino, 27, and Luis Moreno, 29.
All four men are Colombian citizens and are suspected of being part of a gang that is involved in burglaries and tourism. The gang uses extensive surveillance, GPS technology, video footage and counter-surveillance to establish behavioral patterns of their victims.
Two suspects were caught on surveillance footage walking through an empty house in Braintree, Massachusetts on June 20.
Just a month later, another camera was found in Alhambra, California. On June 20, two suspects were caught on surveillance camera walking through an empty house outside Boston.
Two weeks later, Braintree police reported that a neighbor found a hidden camera in the bushes across from the house where the burglary occurred, Boston 25 News Items.
Photos from the hidden camera show that it was covered with leaves to camouflage it with the surroundings.
Three suspects, all from New York City, have now been arrested in connection with the incident.
Police officers across the country are now urging residents to remain vigilant and take precautions to prevent break-ins, such as never leaving a hidden key outside your home and always locking your doors and windows when you leave.
If you see a suspicious vehicle, make a note of the license plate, officers advise. Also, make sure your front door and outside area are well lit.
Trees and shrubs also need to be pruned well, they said, so that they do not become an easy hiding place for thieves.
Installing security cameras is also important, officers said, as is monitoring them often.
And finally, a broken window or an open door should be a clear signal to call the police immediately. Do not go anywhere near the inside.
“Remember, it’s important to check the outside of your home regularly for any unfamiliar objects or changes in the yard that may hide a security camera,” Glendale police said in June.
‘Watch for suspicious people knocking on doors. They may be checking to see if anyone is home.’