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If you find one of these in your Airbnb, call the cops
What would you do if you found a hidden camera recording your family's most intimate vacation moments? Many victims mistakenly only tell the vacation rental company, but you should call the cops.
The risks of not doing so are laid bare by a damaging new CNN investigation revealing Airbnb does not routinely inform law enforcement of hidden-camera incidents - even when children are involved.
The company is also accused of sharing details of complaints with hosts, which authorities say could injure criminal investigations because it gives suspects a chance to destroy incriminating evidence.
Tiny cameras are often concealed in ordinary household objects like clock radios, plugs, power outlets or mirrors. You can use your phone's camera to detect infrared signals emitted by the devices, or its flashlight to see telltale reflections, but it's challenging.
Law enforcement has recovered thousands of images and videos from hosts showing guests changing clothes, showering, and even having sex, leaving them terrified that the footage will be circulated online.
Pictured: A popular hiding spot for a hidden camera. Tiny cameras are often concealed in ordinary household objects like clock radios, plugs, power outlets or mirrors
Some Airbnb hosts have surreptitiously recorded their guests, with law enforcement recovering thousands of images and videos from hosts showing guests changing clothes, showering, and even having sex
CNN found Airbnb had created tens of thousands of customer support tickets about surveillance devices since 2013. While Airbnb claims many were innocuous, it remains unclear how many were serious incidents.
Airbnb's criteria for when it notifies law enforcement about hidden-camera complaints is also unclear.
The company tends to handle the complaints with arbitration and non-disclosure agreements - a policy that keeps many stories about recording incidents out of the public eye, CNN reported.
A. Jay Alle was an Airbnb 'superhost'- a position that affords a host greater recognition on the platform - when he was investigated for voyeurism after a couple spotted a hidden camera pointed at the bed.
Police obtained a search warrant and raided his cottage in Comfort, Texas, where they found more than 2,000 pictures of over 30 victims, including children.
In some instances, Alle had captured video of his guests having sex.
He was later charged with 15 counts of invasive visual recording and pleaded guilty to six of them.
It's imperative that Airbnb guests sweep the sites for hidden cameras, like the one featured here
In October 2021, detectives from the Kendall County Sheriff's Office notified Airbnb that the 'superhost' was being investigated.
Almost two months later, Alle's listing was still active on the platform.
'From a law enforcement perspective, if I tell you that I’m investigating then you should stop hosting that individual on your site until the outcome of my investigation,' Lt. Butch Matjeka told CNN.
In a statement to DailyMail.com, an Airbnb spokesperson said: 'In 2024, Airbnb adopted a policy banning security cameras inside listings.'
The statement continues: 'Last year, far less than 0.1% of stays globally resulted in any type of safety report to us – let alone a report related to a security camera – and when we do receive an allegation, we take appropriate, swift action, which can include removing hosts and listings that violate the policy.'
'Airbnb’s trust and safety policies lead the vacation rental industry, and include background checks on US-based hosts and guests.'
A. Jay Alle was an Airbnb 'superhost'- a position that affords a host greater recognition on the platform- when he was investigated for voyeurism
Airbnb has accrued thousands of customer-reported complaints regarding hidden cameras in bedrooms and bathrooms over the past decade
Given the dire situation, it's imperative that Airbnb guests sweep the sites for hidden cameras themselves.
And while finding these pernicious devices seems challenging, some measures make doing so far easier.
Despite the widespread impression that hidden cameras are usually highly sophisticated equipment, Joe LaSorsa, founder of a security consultancy firm, said this is not the case.
'Most people have a somewhat exaggerated sense of what a bug or video device is. They think it’s like the movies, where it’s extremely small and hidden behind something,' LaSorsa told the Washington Post.
'That takes a lot of sophistication, a lot of technology and a lot of resources,' he added.
LaSorsa continued: 'The overwhelming majority of stuff out there is going to be commercially available devices. People are going to buy them off Amazon, eBay, Alibaba.'
Given the dire situation, it's become imperative that Airbnb guests sweep the sites for hidden cameras themselves. An hidden camera at an Airbnb featured in a TikTok video
The military veteran and counterespionage expert urged guests to spend at least 30 minutes checking the property for hidden cameras.
He explained that all it takes to conduct a thorough sweep are a 'basic understanding of camera operations and a cellphone.'
'You can find 99 percent of devices with knowledge and awareness,' LaSorsa told The Washington Post, before adding, 'A cellphone can go a long way.'
To demonstrate his claim, the security expert used his cellphone flashlight to reveal a hidden camera in an alarm clock.
Sweeping the light over the face of the clock, LaSorsa noticed a faint glimmer within a small hole to the left of the time display.
'As I move the light around, it’s glistening at me,' he said. 'And when I hold the light right in front of it, you can see a lens right there.'
Two privacy experts made similar recommendations when they spoke with DailyMail.com.
Their suggestions included using apps on your smartphone to search for Wi-Fi-connected gadgets and using your phone’s infrared detector to sniff out hidden devices.
Shine a flashlight to find reflections of camera lenses
Turning off all the lights and using a flashlight can help to find the telltale reflections of camera lenses, said Chris Hauk, consumer privacy champion at Pixel Privacy.
Hauk said that while the room is dark you can also look for green or red LED lights - another telltale sign of a hidden camera.
Could a flashlight help you track down cameras in your Airbnb?
Hauk told DailyMail.com: ‘One way is to turn off all of the lights in the room and use a flashlight to sweep the area, looking for any reflections of camera lenses.’
Camera lenses will appear as blue flashes in the dark, Hauk said.
Use apps to root out hidden devices
Several dedicated apps, such as Fing, can help sniff out cameras connected to the Wi-Fi, said Brian Higgins, security specialist at Comparitech.
Apps such as Fing scan the Wi-Fi network and reveal details of all the connected devices - which can be a good first step towards finding hidden cameras.
Apps such as Fing can help to find devices lurking on the Wi-Fi network (Fing/Apple)
(It’s worth noting, however, that this won’t find cameras with a wired connection or cameras which are recording to an internal chip).
Higgins said: ‘If you want to get technical, you can download a WiFi sniffer to see if anyone else is extracting data from your location.”
‘Look out for strange Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth signals (use your phone to try to connect to devices in the area): these could be signs of recording devices.
Check for two-way mirrors
Chris Hauk, consumer privacy champion at Pixel Privacy
A classic place to conceal cameras is behind mirrors - and it’s also worth checking for two-way mirrors, said Hauk.
Hauk said: ‘Look behind hanging mirrors for cameras.
‘If a mirror is bolted to the wall, turn off the lights and, hold a flashlight up to the mirror and scan its surface with it. If all you see is your flashlight’s reflection, the mirror is likely a traditional one-way mirror.
‘However, if you can see into an area behind the mirror, it is likely a two-way mirror, which can allow hidden cameras to record the area.'
Use your phone’s camera to spot infrared sensors
Cameras tend to use infrared light to capture images in darker rooms - and while you can’t see infrared, your phone’s camera probably can.
Depending on your camera model, it might be either the front or rear-facing camera which can detect infrared.
Hauk said: ‘To determine if it has that capability, open the camera app and aim a remote control at it (like the one that controls the television that is likely in the Airbnb rental), then press some of the buttons on the remote.
‘If you see a flash of purple or white light, the camera can detect infrared. You should then turn off all the lights in the room, and using the camera app, scan the room for any similar flashes that could be coming from a hidden camera.’
In 2022, an Airbnb superhost, Peter Madden, pleaded guilty to seven counts of violation of privacy for recording five guests at his property in Maine.
Although Madden initially claimed that the camera - hidden in a clock radio that faced the guests' bed - was used for security purposes, he later confessed to recording guests engaged in sexual intercourse.
'There's stuff of a couple of couples playing around or getting changed,' he brazenly admitted to the authorities, according to a recording obtained by CNN.
'Are you a voyeur?' the shocked officer asked.
'I'm an artist,' Madden replied.
'I look at everything. I study everything.'