There’s nothing unusual about seeing a coat hook in a public bathroom and that’s exactly what makes a crime involving them so insidious. Despite their unassuming appearance—these are no ordinary hooks. They’re a high-tech peephole.
As the Sun-Sentinel reports, police are warning the public about hidden cameras that have been found in public restrooms in the Florida Keys. So far, three tiny devices hidden inside coat hooks have been discovered — much like the one used to spy on a female worker on an oil rig.
The cameras are commonly marketed as security devices and can be bought cheaply online. Motion detectors in the camera were set to start recording video when someone entered the restroom. Police stressed that the cameras can be hidden nearly anywhere:
“[T]hese are very small cameras that can be mounted in many locations and hidden in many seemingly every-day items,” said Sheriff Rick Ramsey in a public statement.
How can one tell if coat hook is suspicious? Experts suggest looking for coat hooks hung at an odd level.
According to WZVN News, hidden cameras can also be placed in vents and on sinks, and have been found in restrooms, hotel rooms, and dressing rooms.
“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.”
Kerskie says that a device called a Spy Finder can help detect the presence of hidden cameras. There are also cell phone apps that claim to do the same thing, though Kerskie warned that the apps can produce false positives. Still, she says it may be worth the investment for women who live alone or for business owners who don’t want to end up in the news for having peeping cameras on their premises.