Now in the Dale: Scary Spy Cams
A resident’s unsettling discovery has the community on alert
BY DEBORAH SKOLNIK
It’s hardly unusual for a cautious homeowner to install surveillance cameras. But on July 28th, a Bradford Road resident found the opposite: Someone else had stealthily planted a concealed camera on their property, monitoring the residents and their visitors’ comings and goings. The Scarsdale Police Department (SPD) was notified at once, and is working with other law-enforcement agencies to investigate the matter. Fortunately, no one was harmed and no break-in seems to have occurred, nor did a search of surrounding areas reveal similar devices.
Thieves’ newest trick
In these tech-forward times, criminals have figured out there’s an easier, less obvious way than drive-bys to determine when a home is ripe for a break-in. Small cameras nestled in easily overlooked spots, such as garden edges, allow burglars the remote work options so many of us now have. Scarsdale isn’t the only town plagued with the property, as articles from the New York Post and boston.com illustrate.
If your mental soundtrack is now playing the ‘80s song “Somebody’s Watching Me,” you’re not alone. The SPD, which has stepped up patrols, recommends the following prudent measures:
Keep all exterior doors at your residence locked, using deadbolt locks. Keep your garage door closed and locked, including your interior access door. Lock every one of your house’s windows as well, including those above ground level.
Lock your vehicles’ doors and remove keys or key fobs from the interior.
Lock your garage door opener in a glovebox.
Turn on your alarm system when you are away, and keep it on the “stay” or “home” mode when you’re in the house, especially at bedtime.
Keep your home’s perimeter well lit and use motion-sensing exterior lighting.
Don’t hide a key under your house’s doormat or any other place outside; you might just get outsmarted.
Think about protecting your property with a video surveillance system.
The SPD urges all residents to sign up for Everbridge, the village’s emergency notification system.