DIY Spy Tip #089 - "...with 'friends' like you..."

If you are still relying on Google to snoop on your friends, you are behind the curve.

Armed with new and established Web sites, people are uncovering surprising details about colleagues, lovers and strangers that often don't turn up in a simple Internet search. Though none of these sites can reveal anything that isn't already available publicly, they can make it much easier to find. And most of them are free.

Zaba Inc.'s ZabaSearch.com turns up public records such as criminal history and birthdates. Spock Networks Inc.'s Spock.com and Wink Technologies Inc.'s Wink.com are "people-search engines" that specialize in digging up personal pages, such as social-networking profiles, buried deep in the Web. Spokeo.com is a search site operated by Spokeo Inc., a startup that lets users see what their friends are doing on other Web sites. Zillow Inc.'s Zillow.com estimates the value of people's homes, while the Huffington Post's Fundrace feature tracks their campaign donations. Jigsaw Data Corp.'s Jigsaw.com, meanwhile, lets people share details with each other from business cards they've collected -- a sort of gray market for Rolodex data. (more)

Quote of the Day

"Anybody can be a spy now."
– Todd Myers, President, Computer Sights

As a private investigator, Jim Bender has tracked everything from straying spouses to strung-out trust-fund babies - sometimes following them for days at a time.

But thanks to an innovative GPS device the size of a matchbox, he can now stake out a cheating husband without leaving his Fort Lauderdale office. Or, as he has done the last few weeks, help a major company figure out who is draining the diesel fuel from its big rigs.

Technological advances have revolutionized the surveillance business, making devices smaller, cheaper and more effective than ever. And not just for professional snoops like Bender, but for everyday people. (more)

FutureWatch - Video Vigilantes

New Zealand - A Christchurch cul-de-sac has thwarted its boy-racer problem with secret video surveillance.

Business owners and the only resident of Dalziel Place in Woolston were fed up with weekly crowds of boy racers converging on their street, doing burnouts, defacing properties and throwing bottles.

Cameras set up by a surveillance company that has its headquarters on the street captured footage of six cars and their drivers breaking the law.

The footage was passed on to police and all six drivers last week had their cars impounded for 28 days. (more)

SpyCam Story #443 - Reality YOU tube

Millions of Americans have wireless cameras in their homes and cars, purchased for security or to monitor children — but it turns out the devices could be making those they're meant to protect more vulnerable.

Reporter Tom Regan of ABC News' Atlanta station, WSB-TV, investigated how video cameras may be providing an unwelcome window into your private life.

From a baby's nursery, to a restaurant, to an office, private scenes proved shockingly easy to eavesdrop on with minimal equipment in a recent WSB-TV outing.

Regan's team bought a $100 rearview camera from a local auto parts store, installed it in an S.U.V. and simply drove around. They were amazed by the images picked up by the wireless monitor that came with the rearview camera... (more with video report)

And so, our list of residential snitch devices grows longer...
• 1960's - AM wireless intercom systems.
• 1970's - FM wireless intercom systems.
• 1980's - Cordless telephones.
• 1990's - Wireless audio baby monitors.
• 2000's - Wireless TV baby/security monitors.

What ABC News didn't mention is that professional burglars have taken advantage of these technologies for over 50 years. Their latest tool is a sensitive, compact video scanner.

CBS 46 Investigates: Cell Phone Spying

New cell phone “spyware” has made it easy for just about anyone to bug your phone and uncover details of your private life, communications experts say.

The “spyware," marketed to suspicious spouses, parents and employers, can turn just about any cell phone into a high-tech spying device.

A quick search on the Internet reveals dozens of "spy phone" programs ranging from $4 to $400. Some “spyware” works on Bluetooth technology, while others require a download onto a "smart" phone, like a Blackberry or Web-based device. CBS 46 Investigative Reporter Wendy Saltzman tested Flexispy, high-end software that experts say allows people to eavesdrop on calls, download e-mails, and even track a person's GPS location at the touch of a button. (more) (video) (similar subject, different source)

Baby's First SpyCam

(source)

Surveillance Desensitization Continues

Hal Niedzviecki writes...
I ask (Ursula) Lebana how things have changed since she opened Canada’s first spy store back in 1991.

“People who came into the store at that time were quite shocked,” she tells me. “They never realized cameras were that small. They said, ‘Oh my God, that’s scary. And isn’t it terrible to monitor the nanny? Where’s the trust?’”

Sixteen years later, business is booming. “Now people say, ‘Oh, I want a hidden camera,’” says Lebana, who has since opened SpyTech locations in Ottawa and London, Ontario. “They are more willing to use them now. They’re more familiar with it. I’m even getting repeat customers... (more)

Mama Hari

...a mother writes...
"It’s a tough call knowing when to spy and when to trust. Though my own children, 4 and 7, are too young for me to be going through pockets looking for drugs, turning up mattresses looking for porno, etc., I plan on doing those things in their teen years.

In my own childhood, my parents were way too hands-off. Both of my brothers were doing serious drugs in high school and my parents didn’t find out until it was way too late. They wanted harmony in the house and took the path of least resistance. That meant my brothers were allowed privacy, didn’t have an enforced curfew, were given car keys before they could handle that responsibility. My parents prayed maturity would come soon.

With my own children, I’ve learned that I have to stay on top of things. On the computer, my son has tried to order things online. He even asked my mom for her credit card so he could buy a Ben 10 shirt. We’ve found that we need to set the rules for which Web sites he can look at. Anything not on the ‘Kids’ section of our Web browser’s bookmarks is off limits. Still, we walk by often while he’s online, and we remind him he needs to ask if it’s a new site." (more)

Cell Phone Spying Victim? Tell Your Story.

Have you ever been a victim of cell phone spying?

If your significant other or family member has ever plotted to listen in on your calls, even check your records or download spying software on your phone, we want to hear from you.

GMA is looking for guests who can talk about their experience with cell phone spying. Fill out the info below and you might just end up on GMA. (more)

New Gadget Can Spy On Text Messages

Suspicious spouses can check out their husband or wife's deleted texts with a new gadget. The £76 ($149.00) device can get all the data off a mobile telephone's sim card - including messages and numbers that have been deleted. The information can then be transferred to a PC or laptop through a USB port. BrickHouse Security say it is ideal to "spy on your wife, husband, teens or colleague". (more)

Teacher Spies

From the UK Sunday Times...
Question: "Like many sixthformers I have a Facebook account. Some of my friends have created groups which refer to our school; none of these groups is critical of the school. Our teachers spy on us using false profiles and have told us off for creating these groups. Can teachers spy on us and then discipline us for these activities?"

Answer: "Depending on the privacy settings, Facebook groups can be viewed by anyone accessing the site. What you write could in effect be for public consumption. If the comments posted reflect badly on the school, then the head teacher can, education lawyer Jack Rabinowicz tells me, take action to defend the school’s reputation." (more)

SpyCam Story #428 - Counterspy High

MA - Students (Jason Kuo and Nathan Yeo) writing for Newton South High School's newspaper (Denebola) discovered that secret cameras were installed in their school.

"Two cameras are located near the locker rooms and are enclosed in black translucent domes. Three others are in halls around the school and are disguised as smoke detectors. They have clear views of bathrooms that school administrators believe are at most risk of vandalism." (more)

"It's just really concerning that the general public just wasn't made aware of the fact that they installed these cameras," said Jason Kuo, a managing editor who worked on the story.

School Principal Brian Salzer wrote an internal e-mail, "They were installed without permission from anyone. I didn't know they were up! The students broke the story to (Superintendent) Jeff Young, School Committee and me." ...Salzer, who wouldn't speak on camera, admitted he later learned who installed the cameras but refused to reveal names. He also indicated in his e-mail that he believed the cameras would be removed soon. (more)

Pocket Spy - GPS Tracker

(from the seller's website...)
The Smallest GPS Logger
The Super PocketTrack is an essential gadget that maps exactly where it has been by recording its own time, date, location, speed direction and altitude at preset levels.

Super PocketTrack will work anywhere on the planet. Using the latest in GPS mapping technologies from Google EarthTM, its exact location can be shown on satellite-based maps and 3D geographical terrain.

Designed with the surveillance professional in mind, the Super PocketTrack Personal GPS Tracking Device will allow you to provide eye popping reports for your client and save you time and money in the process. People are creatures of habit who rarely stray from their normal routine. If a wayward husband, wife, employee, or teenager is suspected of deceptive activity simply provide the Super PocketTrack to your client for them to plant in the suspect's vehicle and retrieve it later for you to download the results. (more)

Can't wait? Need real-time results?
Covert GPS Tracking
• Child Custody
• Teen Drivers
• Cheating Spouses
At only 2.5 x 1.7 x 1.1 inches, this Tiny GPS Tracking Device is fully self-contained and small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. Place in packages, vehicles, or personnel. The miniature GPS Tracking Device sends detailed reports of routes traveled for quality control and security purposes. It can report with a variety of uses defined methods such as automatic sending of real time position data, on demand reporting, and "GeoFencing." These reports are delivered as SMS Text Messages over your local GSM Cellular Network. An internal rechargeable Lithium-Ion Battery powers unit for 12-18 Hours. The External Battery Pack operates for 7-15 days depending on settings. (more)

Why do I mention these items?
So you know what you are up against.

Putin on the dog...

Russia - President Vladimir Putin is to spy on his dog — by kitting her out with a sat-nav collar.

The former KGB agent’s black Labrador Connie often goes missing in woods around his holiday home.

Putin wanted to know about the hi-tech collar when he spoke to Russia’s deputy premier Sergei Ivanov yesterday, just before the launch of a satellite navigation rocket.

Putin asked him in Moscow: “When can I get a device for my dog so she can’t go too far astray?”

Ivanov replied: “Collars will be in the shops from July 2008.” (more)

Mom and Pop Spy Shop

In an upper-middle class suburb in the Midwest, Tom and Cindy are spying on their 16-year-old daughter Jane.

“It’s a frightening window on our daughter’s world,” Cindy told CBS News science and technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg. “And it’s the dark side.”

They asked that CBS News conceal their identities, because their daughter doesn’t know they are tapping into all her online communications.

But then the dilemma - do they confront her with their knowledge and blow their cover? (more - with video)

Professional spy agencies face the same dilemma daily. The question they don't face, however, is... "Is spying really the best parenting skill that I have?"

From those wonderful folks who brought you Room 641A...

AT&T plans to introduce a nationwide program today that gives owners of small and medium-size businesses some of the same tools big security companies offer for monitoring employees, customers, and operations from remote locations.

Under AT&T's Remote Monitor program, a business owner could install adjustable cameras, door sensors, and other gadgets at up to five different company locations across the country.

Using a Java-enabled mobile device or a personal computer connected to the Internet, the owner would be able to view any of the images in real time, control room lighting, and track equipment temperatures remotely. All the images are recorded on digital video, which can be viewed for up to 30 days. (more) (641A)

SpyCam Story #402 - Puppy Love

...from an unusually conscience German Shepherd dog breeder...
"From Sunrise to sunset my puppies are individually loved and cared for. Even while sleeping if I wake in the middle of the night I can view their activity 24/7 from my spycam that I set up from the day they were born. I have monitored and keep journals of each ones behavior to know that they are highly intelligent and are capiable (sic) of being, what ever they are trained to be!" (more)

"So, uh, does this mean the Invisible Fence idea is out, too?"

Taiwanese high school students have launched a campaign to boycott a multi-function electronic identification card. They argued that the radio frequency identification (RFID) student card required by the Taipei City's Bureau of Education violates their rights to privacy.

According to Taipei Times, the High School Student's Rights Association (HSRA) launched the boycott campaign on Sunday. The newspaper quoted the HSRA's secretary, Wang Hao-zheng, as saying that the ID keeps students under strict surveillance like convicts or animals. (more)

UK - Ten students in a secondary school in the United Kingdom are being tracked through RFID implants in their school uniforms in a pilot program. (more)

Not all parents are thrilled. (more)
Not all governments are thrilled. (more)
(In case you don't know... Invisible Fence)

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Keep your flock together with this new Bladerunner product, a tyke-tracker GPS jacket!

Bladerunner teamed up with one of the U.K.'s leading GPS operators and have developed a childrens trackable Jacket.

Features:
- Very long battery life
- Fast signal aquisition
- 2 Quick Dial buttons for SOS situations

You can set a boundary and if your child wanders outside of this then you will be notified by mobile phone. There is a £10 monthly charge which gives you access to a secure website where you can view every movement of your child whilst wearing the jacket. This even expands to a historical view where past days/weeks or even months movements can be viewed. (more)

Trust Buster or Good Parenting? You decide.

You will either find this Fox News Morning Show segment "Spying on Your Kids" fascinating, appalling, or both.

The hosts' giddiness about spying on the young ones bordered on perverse. The thought that Ra-parent technology could also be used to spy on spouses did not escape them either.

The obvious star of this 'show and tell' is Todd, the gadget peddler.

"A psychologist" is also present - to provide that famous Fox News Network balance. Unfortunately, her introduction is lost under the opening applause. Co-host, Mike, disses her comment, "You don't have to go to these extremes..." with a "Doctor, thank you but were going back to it anyway."

Tune in next time, when we ask the question, "Who will keep an eye on the 'adults'?" (video)

Snitch Bear for Santa Moms

Nakamiki Children GSM Cell Phone
"Easy for Parents to Keep an Eye on Their Kids at School"
--------
"Boo-boo" is a new type of cell phone being marketed to the world from a company in China. The marketing logic being used is that somehow eavesdropping on children will make them safer when at school.

Faulty logic?
Think about this...
- What will teachers think about having their classrooms bugged?
- Who else will buy these, gut the bear and use the entrails to bug?
- What psychological effect does this have on these kids?
- Will bugging and eavesdropping seem seem morally normal to their whole generation twenty years from now?
(more) (more)

"I'm watching you."

Even non-tech savvy parents look like they are going to get the option to spy on their kids every move when they are behind the wheel of Mommy and Daddy’s Lexus. It seems that tracking kids’ movements by GPS is so old school now that it is not funny. The next generation of driving monitors looks set to incorporate video surveillance. In case you are wondering the technology is being honed as you read this by American Family Insurance. (more)

Several U.S. auto insurers have begun offering in-car cameras or global positioning equipment to help parents monitor their teenagers' driving behavior, hoping to reduce the alarming number of crashes involving young new motorists.

Industry experts say it's too soon to gauge the effectiveness of programs like American Family Insurance Co.'s Teen Safe Driver, used by the Kindermans in Madison, Wis. But the case for needing to improve highway safety for teens is compelling. (more) (video)

Kids can no longer call... Mickey Mouse, Rat Fink

The Walt Disney Company's Disney Mobile phone service is being exterminated.

The service's Family Center allowed parents to:
- "Locate your kid’s phone using GPS technology. Get a location of your kid's phone and a map of the location without calling. All adults on the account can use Family Locator from their Disney Mobile handset or the Disney Mobile website."
- Limit spending.
- And, limit how and when kids could use their phones. (more)(more)

Colorado Parents Can Now Spy On Teen Drivers

An insurance company is providing parents with another tool to track how their teenagers are driving. American Family Insurance began offering a program to put cameras in cars in August.

...the camera only records 10 seconds before and after an out-of-the-ordinary driving event like a swerve, speeding, not coming to a full stop or a collision.

"Nobody can view the video except for the parents, with a password that's proprietary to them," said Tom Walker, an agent with American Family Insurance. (more)

IA Supreme Court: Parents can wiretap kids

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday that telephone conversations a father recorded between his daughter and the teacher he suspected of sexually abusing her will be admissible in court, writing that parents may record their children’s telephone conversations if it is necessary for a child’s welfare. (more)

Teacher Apologizes for Bugging Colleague

A middle school science teacher charged with bugging a colleague's classroom has pleaded no contest in the case, saying her actions were embarrassing to her and her family.

Anne M. Harvey, 44, of Flushing apologized to the fellow teacher and following her plea Thursday was sentenced to six months of probation and 75 hours of community service. Harvey also was fined $250.

She originally was charged with attempted eavesdropping, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. But she pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of trespassing for eavesdropping.

A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but is treated as such for sentencing purposes. (more)

Software lets parents monitor kids' calls

In March, 15-year-old Joshua Brumfield got a shiny new BlackBerry Pearl, and his parents got a new way to watch out for their son.

The Brumfields signed up to be early users of Radar, software designed to let parents monitor incoming calls on their child's mobile phone. Anytime Joshua gets a call from someone not on a call list approved by his parents, they will receive a real-time text alert on their cell phone or online.

Radar could mark a shift toward greater monitoring by parents through cell phones, much the way it happened on the Web years ago. As more kids live their lives on mobile devices--text messaging, sending photos, scheduling school assignments, surfing the Web and calling their social circle--some parents are using tracking software to protect them from predators or bullies, or to simply stay connected. (more)(more parents monitoring children articles)

"Funny, it doesn't look like a 1984 model Toyota."

(from gizmodo.com)
When the AVL-900 is properly installed in a car, it contains enough gadgetry to successfully ruin every high-school student's Friday night.

Not only does it send out the GPS coordinates of the car's current location or alert the owner/parent the second their car has been moved, but it can spy on the driver as well. That's right, with a simple text message you can instantly gain access to all of the conversations going on inside the car. So even though little Jimmy said on the phone that he was going to the library, once dialed in you can hear all about how he and his friends are on their way to the deadly drug party with all the strippers and illegal activities.

Luckily for the young'uns they still have some time, since there's no word yet on where to pick up one of these snitches. But if the moms I knew growing up are any indication, they will find it—and they will use it.– Ben Longo (original)

The 'young'uns' lucky few minutes are over... (more) ...not to mention the spouse'uns.

Mom's snooping on daughter violated privacy act

WA - In a victory for rebellious teenagers everywhere, the state Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a mother violated Washington's privacy act by eavesdropping on her daughter's phone conversation.

"It's ridiculous! Kids have more rights than parents these days," said Carmen Dixon, 47, of Friday Harbor. "My daughter was out of control, and that was the only way I could get information and keep track of her. I did it all the time."

The Supreme Court ruled that Dixon's testimony against a friend of her daughter's should not have been admitted in court because it was based on the intercepted conversation.

The justices unanimously ordered a new trial for Oliver Christensen, who had been convicted of second-degree robbery partly because of Dixon's testimony.

The case started with a purse snatching that shocked the island town of Friday Harbor, population 2,000. On Oct. 24, 2000, two young men knocked down an elderly woman, breaking her glasses, and stole her purse. Christensen, then 17, was a suspect.

When Christensen called the Dixon house later, Lacey Dixon, then 14, took the cordless phone into her bedroom and shut the door. Carmen Dixon hit the "speakerphone" button on the phone base and took notes on the conversation -- in which Christensen said he knew the whereabouts of the purloined purse.

The ruling will not likely result in parents being prosecuted for snooping, Cumming said. But it forbids courts and law enforcement from using the fruits of such snooping. (more) (more)

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

WA - Dozens of Gig Harbor High School students demonstrated outside the school Monday to protest an official's decision to show parents surveillance video of their daughter kissing another girl.

The controversy arose after the school's dean of students, Keith Nelson, saw the two kissing and holding hands and found video of it on the surveillance system. He showed it to the parents of one of the girls because they had asked to be kept apprised of her behavior.

The parents moved the girl to a different school district after watching it.

One student reporting the demonstration for the school paper, Amber Critchley, said the protesters believe it was an improper use of the surveillance video, which is primarily a security feature. (more)

Alternative scenario...
• Dean sees inappropriate conduct on school property.
• Parents have asked to be kept apprised of their child's conduct.
• Dean consults with school psychologist to determine the best way to proceed - taking into account the student's feelings as well as the parent's.

A private meeting ensues to discuss the issue. No publicity. No trust-crushing, embarrassing, jack-boot, roll-the-tape surveillance tactics. Some good comes of this for all concerned.

Wisely used, electronic surveillance remains a generally acceptable safety and security tool. Unwisely used, it degenerates into a distrusted and loathsome 1984 power-tool.

Before giving anyone a power-tool wouldn't training on safe and proper usage be appropriate?

Just a thought.