Who's Watching ...and Listening.

• Author: Auletta, Michael
• Position: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

"... Most local law enforcement agencies... are not equipped with the gear, knowledge, or experience to handle most of the domestic spying situations [that arise] today."

DOMESTIC SPYING never has been easier than it is today, this very second, to watch, listen, or follow someone without that individual ever knowing it. With a simple click of a few keys, a credit card, and a smartphone, you have the ability to know where someone is at all times, watch that individual inside his or her own home, and listen to everything he or she is saying. Depending on your level of access, it is possible to do all of these things without ever leaving your house. While the blazing fast rate of progress within the technology community has made our lives easier by leaps and bounds, it also has smashed down walls of privacy and blown open doors of opportunity for those who wish to use it against us.

There are commercially available, perfectly legal-to-purchase hidden cameras, audio recorders, and GPS trackers that are just one simple Google search away. Some of these cameras are built into known and common household items such as smoke detectors, picture frames, USB chargers, and children's toys. Most of these items would not get a second look from the average person. Many people would not think about the camera lens pointing out of the front of the smoke detector on their ceiling or the WiFi module inside transmitting data in real-time to the person who placed it.

Hidden cameras or covert audio recording devices are used in many different situations and for different reasons. In a relationship spying scenario, one party wants to watch the other when the "watcher" is not around. This often is rooted in some type of mistrust or jealousy. Before, during, or after a divorce is prime time for domestic spying. Oftentimes, one party still has physical access to a shared living space and has the freedom to establish covert surveillance systems. This can be done to gain an advantage in divorce deliberations or child custody battles. Voyeurism is another well-established motivation. The perpetrator could be a landlord, maintenance worker, or even a hired contractor who seizes the opportunity to place a hidden camera in an area where the victim would have a reasonable assumption of privacy. Some motivations have more sinister intentions. A stalker would have easy access to a GPS tracking device to place on his victim's vehicle. That individual then would know exactly...