People in the neighborhood are speaking out after finding the latest criminal trend that has been happening in towns all over Southern California: hidden cameras.
On Saturday, the daughter of an Encino couple who wants to stay anonymous for their safety found a hidden camera in the bushes outside of their house. This was a very scary find.
The family had no idea this would happen to them. Other families have had the same experience, including one in Chino Hills on March 2.
Now, the family and other worried neighbors are telling other people how important it is to check their bushes, trees, and the area around their houses.
A daughter told Rachel Menitoff of KTLA that she saw something interesting in a tree in front of the house while she was taking her kids to see her mom.
As she got closer to the tree, she saw a small camera with green lines going under the bushes.
The girl said she put on gloves, took off the camera, and found what her family thought might be a hard drive close after talking to her mom and finding out that the camera wasn’t hers.
“They’re watching my parents’ activities here, and we couldn’t believe it. God only knows how long it’s been there, and they didn’t even notice,” the daughter said.
Experts said it was probably a cheap camera with a SIM card. They also said that thieves often go back to get stolen items and look at how people behave.
“They want to know when my parents aren’t home because they see the car pulling out of the garage. They think that if you’re not here, it’s a good time to break in,” the daughter said.
People have also seen these fake, “hidden” cameras in Temecula, Arcadia, and Santa Barbara County.
A Certified Protection Professional named Don Moore said, “The thieves are giving us away because they’re showing us what they want.” “They are watching our homes to see when we are coming and going.” Drones are also being used to check the backs of houses to see if anyone left a patio door open on the second floor. They want to get into your house when you’re not there.
In Encino, people who lived nearby took down the strange devices and called the cops.
This couple was told by the Los Angeles Police Department that if anyone finds one of these devices, they should call 911 right away because it is that dangerous.