To Catch a Predator, Home Edition

August 18, 2013 12:34 PM

A friend of a friend has a suspicion her family is being spied on through a shared attic-type space, but currently feels powerless to do anything without proof. Is there a camera a person could hook up in an attic that would take images without any kind of indicator light showing that it was on and without any additional lighting?

It would also have to be compact and relatively durable to heat exposure, as the attic is (not surprisingly) very hot this time of year. She'd rather the images be stored on an SD card or USB stick, as she worries wireless transmission might catch the predator's attention. 120 V power is available if needed.

I'm the closest thing to an all-purpose tech nerd they can find so far, but this is outside of my wheelhouse. Any ideas?

I've intentionally left out details so that I can ask this non-anonymously. I apologize for the vagueness, but it was the best assurance I could offer that the camera is to be used for creep-catching, not actual creeping.

posted by DirtyOldTown to Technology (15 answers total)

Best answer: You're essentially describing a game/trail camera. You can get one with Infrared capabilities (random camera found on Google) to work in low light situations.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 12:40 PM on August 18, 2013 [2 favorites]

There are infrared, motion-activated cameras, aimed at hunters, that probably fit most of what she's looking for.

On preview, yeah, like that one.
posted by box at 12:43 PM on August 18, 2013

Short term, they can confirm their suspicions in low-tech ways - scatter some dust that would show footprints, put thread or scotch tape across the door frame. They could also block access to their side of the attic with stuff like (mostly) empty boxes (get some at the liquor store or buy a bunch of filing boxes at an office supply store, then put in a couple tin cans in each so they can't be moved silently).
posted by 445supermag at 12:50 PM on August 18, 2013 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Those are good ideas, too, 445supermag. I have been told they really want definitive proof as the person they suspect has legitimate reasons for entering the space, but a photo of them spying on people below would be concrete.

And just so that I am clear, are black IR flashes (like that on the linked camera) invisible to people?
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:07 PM on August 18, 2013

IR flashes are invisible to people. They're the same light used by your television remote. If your prowler has night vision equipment though, he'll know.
posted by chairface at 1:18 PM on August 18, 2013

Is there a power source in this shared attic?
Does your friend had a wireless network with a reasonable router?

If so, there are plenty of little IP cams with motion detection capabilities built in. They can be controlled remotely and will even upload to your computer or something like Dropbox. This is just a short list of some on eBay. For my own reasons I have been trying to catch a couple of yard critters (skunk, raccoon, possum, Jehovah's Witnesses and lawn care salespeople) and have this Foscam FI8910W and it has worked fairly well, although the night vision could use a little help in the trip range area.

The one I have is probably overkill for what you want (it does pan, tilt, records audio etc), but there are plenty to be had for $25 or less if you are willing to wait for slow shipment. Some even operate off of battery power, but I have not checked them out.

Another alternative is to just place a fake camera-looking device up there with a big red LED that blinks on and off intermittently suggesting you are taking pictures. That might be enough to deter a person from sneaking around and spying.
posted by lampshade at 1:22 PM on August 18, 2013

Here's another way to do it. Get a wireless driveway bell. It's a battery operated motion sensor and a wireless receiver. It will ding whenever someone moves past it. You can put the dinging part wherever you want.

The motion detector part has a red LED on it; simply tape over the LED to hide it.

I work with IR imagers in a professional capacity. NIR LEDs as used on cameras like these are visible to people. I have the Foscams mentioned above, and the IR LEDs on them are absolutely visible as a dim red glow at night. Try it yourself. It's a fun exercise to identify working security cameras out in the world at night. You'll see a faint red glow around the lens. In this case, the Foscams have a software switch to turn them off if necessary. You can also cover them with exposed, developed film negative, or crossed polarizers, to hide them but still allow some amount of IR to pass.

The Foscams also have some blinking LEDs on the back that you will have to tape over.
posted by fake at 1:32 PM on August 18, 2013 [4 favorites]

Just to clarify, you won't see the flashlight-beam of infrared light given off by such LEDs, but if you look directly into the LEDs you will see a dim red glow.

You can also prevent that from being a problem by placing the camera out of the normal line of sight (very high, or very low)
posted by fake at 1:38 PM on August 18, 2013

If this creeper is using any kind of digital camera in the attic, that will detect the IR lights from an IR camera. (Try pointing your phone camera at a remote control as you press a button - same idea)
posted by Wulfhere at 2:16 PM on August 18, 2013

I have a game camera and when it takes photos, a light turns on and it makes a click. It is a dim light, but pretty easy to see and hear. Maybe there are game cameras that are perfectly invisible by now, but I would check. This one is also biggish, and would be hard to hide. It does take great pictures in darkness, however.
posted by nanook at 5:07 PM on August 18, 2013

If it's dark in the attic there is no way they can take an undetected photo unless they use a night vision camera. Game cameras are usually cheap and do not do night vision very well they have flashes that go off when a shot is taken at night. Otherwise all the photos would just be black. Plus still photos aren't going to show much especially if its motion activated. You'd only catch him climbing into the attic.

Google "night vision nanny cam" and you will find a plethora of choices that are a)unobtrusive and b) take passable low light video. I have seen ones where the camera is on a long flexible stalk and the recorder can be located a couple feet away, that would seem to be ideal as you could keep the recorder in your relatives house and snake the camera part up into the attic, ensuring the creeper couldn't access the recorder.
posted by fshgrl at 5:22 PM on August 18, 2013

Has the friend of the friend considered the possibility that the attic creep installed a camera of their own: a pin-hole wifi camera in the ceiling (or in whatever the friend thinks the creep is spying through)? If so, the creep could get the view from the attic without re-entering the attic. No noise, no discomfort from the heat. If that's the case, there would be no one for your IR camera to capture.

If the spying is audio rather than video, it would be even easier to do remotely.
posted by Snerd at 5:29 PM on August 18, 2013

Response by poster: Answers to various things:

-Yes, there's power. See original post.
-She flatly refuses to use WiFi streaming. Also in original post. SD or USB storage.
-She really does not want anything with an indicator light.
-Deterring the peeping isn't sufficient. She's looking for proof.
-The creep has a plausible reason to go up there. Just showing the person is in a place they are allowed to be won't accomplish much.
-The suspicions started from noticing that someone seems to have made at least one hole they can cover and uncover by hand while in the space. A careful search was done, but no camera was found.
-I am aware of the limitations of red flash and white flash game cameras. The camera linked is a black IR flash. Anyone have any experience with those? In theory, those give off no visible light of any kind.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 5:49 PM on August 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

Suspicion is not proof. If this is a fear without basis, no camera will be enough. Have a talk with your friend and find out what she's worried about.
posted by KRS at 6:18 AM on August 19, 2013 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: The camera suggestions were good. The news was not.

Here at the bottom of this, while it's quieter, and now that suspicions have been confirmed, I'll just say that the reason I had to be cagey was that it is a member of the family in question who is the creeper. It's just a hundred kinds of bad and I may yet follow up with another AskMe on the ramifications of that.

Thanks everybody. I will mark this resolved.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 12:27 PM on September 6, 2013