Coat hooks are a pretty versatile tool. They can hold clothes, your umbrella, your headphones, your keychain – the list goes on.As innovative as they are, they’re not exactly an item you’d imagine could be used for something creepy and illegal, right?I certainly never thought of them in that light – until I discovered this piece of news. They look innocent enough, but these coat hooks are actually hidden cameras used to spy on you at very vulnerable moments.
Three instances were recently reported in the state of Florida. MCSO detectives reported:
“In all three incidents, miniature cameras hidden in coat hooks were found mounted on the walls in the women’s restrooms. They were found at Anne’s Beach, the Circle K Store at the 99.8 mile marker of Highway U.S. and in the women’s bathroom at Harry Harris Park in Tavernier.”
In Kansas, another clothing hook camera was found in the change room of a YMCA after a woman accidentally knocked it to the floor and realized what it was.
The scary thing about these hidden cameras is that ANYONE can buy them online. That means if someone wants to spy on another person, they can simply spend a few dollars and get a device that few will ever notice.
These spy cameras are being sold and advertised as home security cameras, but people are using them to spy on women in public restrooms and in hotel rooms.
“Anyone who has a public restroom on their property needs to check them closely,” said Sheriff Ramsay. “If you find anything suspicious you think might contain a hidden camera, don’t touch it. Call us right away and we will respond,” he said.
These hidden cameras look like simple plastic coat hooks that you can buy at any corner store. But if you look closely, you’ll see a very small hole in the top portion. This part is the lens for the camera and it’s recording everything you do.
These spy cameras are motion activated. When someone enters the bathroom, they turn on. They record until either the battery runs out or the device runs out of storage space.
“Keep in mind, though, that these are very small cameras that can be mounted in many locations and hidden in many seemingly every-day items,” said the Sheriff.
Hidden camera technology has drastically changed recent. Now they can be as small as the “period at the end of a sentence,” private investigator Carrie Kerskie warns.
“Nowadays, with the advances in technology, all you need to do is insert a MicroSD card. The battery life for these coat hooks, I looked it up, is two hours. Then, you just take it out, pop it in the computer, and you have all your images,” she told WZVN.
“It’s real simple and easy. They just walk in, hang it up, walk out, go back a few hours later and take it off.”
