Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/06/28/speedy-technology-adoption-burglars-use-of-cheap-surveillance-cameras-becoming-widespread.html
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When I move, I’m going have a passive audit running of the nearby wifi. Even without a visible SSID, it’ll find them.
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“burglary tourism,” which authorities say is when people from other countries enter the U.S. under the guise of tourism so they can target neighborhoods to commit burglary.
…missing something here. How does surveillance equipment specifically aid “people from other countries” to come into the country and commit burglary? Isn’t it more likely that any (even domestic) burglar uses this equipment to detect nearly the opposite: that the homeowners are off somewhere being tourists and therefore out of the way of a methodical burglarizing?
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Domestic burglars are too lazy these days to properly case a joint and plan a heist?
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It’s those foreigners again coming here and taking hard earned jobs from the local folks…
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I think the context you’re missing is “foreigners are criminals”
This feels like something that almost never happens.
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Wouldn’t it be more likely to use a cellular modem?
This one seems to: https://ktla.com/news/local-news/hidden-cameras-found-surveilling-more-southern-california-homes-sparks-worry/
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There’s been a growing trend of foreign national gangs flying in to commit coordinated burglaries in upscale neighborhoods - mostly in So Cal but it’s spreading elsewhere. As you say, the use of these cameras is to remotely monitor the properties to determine the best days/times to break in when the owners are gone.
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These days, a joint is not properly cased unless all members of the heist gang can see the video.
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I was going to say it’s a similar thing in Europe, but the thieves don’t have to bother with visas for the most part…
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Same here in the US…the rings are exploiting the 90 day visa waiver program so they fly in as tourists then fly out before anyone can trace their activities or link them to the crimes.
Chile is one of the 41 countries that participates in the VWP so many of these burglars are Chilean nationals.
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they often spawn a WPA2 or 3 SSID to log in to retreive materal / do settings
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I see an opportunity here for landscaping services to expand their offerings to mowing, hedge trimming and security services /s (or not /s 
I find myself less surprised each passing day).
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All the better to find, and abuse the SIM card!
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“…the street finds its own uses for things”
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I suspect that getting an unskewed dataset would be tricky to impossible; but it would be interesting to know what, if any, patterns there are in terms of tech level and choice of target.
Having to make an international trip of it certainly seems like a have-to-spend-money-to-make-money move that would only make sense if going after relatively high value targets and would not discourage you from investing in tools to help make your time at the office more productive; so it would be very unsurprising if people who fly in for the occasion are teched-u and focused. The bigger question is how much their domestic counterparts are subject to the same incentives and using the same (fairly cheap) gear vs. just going with low-prep opportunism.
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Why can’t they stick to robbing high end jewelry stores, and leave us in peace?
