TRUE!

A hidden GPS unit can usually be located with a visual inspection.

If you have a baby monitor you might be letting people inadvertently into your home.

If you have a 900 MHz cordless phone throw it in the trash. With a scanner from Radio Shack everyone can hear you!

If you have a "dumb" phone, versus a "smart" (like an iPhone or Blackberry) phone, the chances are of getting spyware on your cellphone are almost nil.

There are lip readers who can tell what people are saying with binoculars. That's why football coaches cover their mouths when they speak.

One of the most common form of eavesdropping is simply listening through walls.

"Eavesdropping" originally came from a person listening with their ears below the window eaves.

Don't use flash drives, pens, or any other souvenirs picked at trade shows in the U.S. or abroad.

If the authorities tap your phone they do it from the central office of the phone company and it is undetectable.

A simple, no frills cell phone will prevent phone hacking. A simple cell phone doesn't have enough memory to store spyware.

With "night shot" on your camcorder you can see clearly the hidden camera on clock radios.

If someone has ordered an extension phone in their home they can listen-in on calls from their former home or former office.

You can call your telephone provider to see if an ex-spouse or former business partner has put in an extension phone in their apartment.

If it can be transmitted through the air it can be intercepted.

Dial 800-444-4444 to see what number you are calling from.

Audio and video recorders can be found by locating a hot spot the device generates which can be detected by the thermal camera.  

All eavesdropping devices have to have a power source. 

The most common eavesdropping device is a cell phone.

The NFL electronically sweeps 32 stadiums before every game.

Most hidden GPS units are easily spotted. Look for a black plastic box under your car.

When doing a bug sweep, remove all the outlet covers and look in there. There should be only 3 wires attached (one a ground).

Eavesdropping devices are most often planted within 20 feet of where conversations take place. 

Some USP memory sticks are actually voice recorders. 

A “bug can be hidden in almost anything.

FALSE!

You can call a certain phone number to see your phone is tapped.

Even if the wiretap is in the central office of the phone company it can be detected by a TSCM (Technical Surveillance CounterMeasures) specialist.

If you hear scratching noises or clicking on your phone it’s tapped.

You can’t tap a cell phone.

Landlords never put hidden cameras in bathrooms.

A dentist might put eavesdropping devices in your teeth.

Eavesdropping devices can be far from where conversation takes place.

Any private investigator can do a bug sweep with a $50 device bought from the Internet.

Clock radios never have hidden cameras in them.

TSCM sweeps emit electromagnetic radiation.

You don’t have to get a court-order to do a wiretap.

You can do bug sweeps with a iPhone app.

If hidden transmitters are battery-powered they can last for years.

FBI or the police care if you suspect you’re being bugged.

Sherlock interviewed by HomeSecuritySystems.net

Check out this interview we did with our friends at HomeSecuritySystems.net. We talk about why people are bugged and why bugs go undetected. Finally, we give you some security tips you can use right away.

Hidden video cameras

I swept an apartment the other day in Manhattan. The woman thought there were video cameras watching her every move.

I really didn't want to do the job. A lot of paranoid people think that somebody is watching them. Reluctantly, I came out on Friday night.

Fortunately, I did. I found three hidden cameras in a studio apartment. Apparently, her boyfriend installed them when she was on vacation (he's a contractor). He said he was going to "make over her apartment." He did.

There was a hidden video camera in her buzzer that opened the front door. It looked on her bed. There was another in the smoke detector (pictured). It looked at her dinner table. There was another in her mantle piece, that he cleverly built, that looked on her couch.

Talk about jealous boyfriends! He had all the bases covered.

Of course, she broke up with him right away. She suspected the cameras from something he said. So, I'll never doubt another woman who says she suspects cameras in her apartment.

Bug Sweeps on You Tube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nH2xqFKsS4

Bug sweep of a car in Connecticut

The other day I was called to a rush job on a car in Greenwich, Connecticut.

After checking carefully under the dashboard, air vents for hidden microphones, and under the driver's seat for microphones or recorders, I popped the hood and checked for connections on the battery.

Then, I went around the vehicle underneath. I started on the right side. When I got to the back right side I spotted it with my flashlight.

A plastic box about 6 x 10 inches was on the body just behind the right rear wheel. Of course, it was held on to the body by a powerful magnet. It was an active GPS unit. An active GPS unit will tell a laptop anywhere in the world via cell phone where the vehicle is at any given moment.

I pulled it off and put it on the rear seat to photograph it. Then, I placed it back to where it was. The client was delighted. I don't know what they'll do with the information I discoverd. I'm just paid to find bugs and GPS units.

Bug sweeps: Redesigning our web site to reflect the same

At Sherlock Investigations we're called to detect wiretaps and "bugs" more than any other investigation. So, we're redesigning our website to reflect that aspect of our business. In a little while, we're going to shift solely to wiretap and bug detection.

Since 1995 we've been locating people, performing background checks, doing surveillance, and a host of other things. That's going to change. Of course, we'll continue to do that for established clients, including one client who engages us to do counterfeit merchandise investigations.

Now, our site is going to feature a list of: Offices, Homes, Computers, Cell Phones, and Automobiles, and the various ways we tackle wiretap and bug detection for each category. The Automobile section also covers active and passive GPS units.

The Computers section will tell you how to save $100 by obtaining a free program that you can run on your computer to uncover spyware.

This is an exciting time for us. With the advent of illegal eavesdropping devices you can buy cheaply on the Internet the decade ahead should be interesting.