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NYC woman found a phone buried in her lawn — and police say it’s a new tactic thieves use to spy on homeowners
moneywise ^ | Jun 25, 2025 | Victoria Vesovski

Posted on 06/26/2025 5:55:01 AM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?

A Queens woman found what looked like a phone buried in her front lawn — but it wasn’t just lost property.

Mary Kehoe, who’s lived in her Forest Hills home for 35 years, spotted the strange device outside. It looked like an Android phone wrapped in black tape, with only the camera exposed — like it was made to watch, not call.

“Why us? I had lots of things going through my head as to why they chose our lawn but realized we are in the middle of the block,” Kehoe told KTVZ 21.

Experts warn that these kinds of planted devices may be part of a growing tactic used by burglars to spy on homeowners, tracking their daily routines or scouting for valuables. And it’s not just an isolated case — similar incidents have popped up across the Tri-State Area.

Discovering a hidden device on your lawn isn’t just unsettling — it’s a serious breach of privacy. And unfortunately, it’s happening more often.

Police say covert surveillance cases like this are turning up across the country, including in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and even quiet neighborhoods like Scarsdale. And the tools being used aren’t high-tech spy gadgets.

“It could be any type of camera that is digital and wireless. It could be cheap; it could be expensive,” Sergeant Vahe Abramyan of the Glendale Police Department told the Los Angeles Times. “You can go on Amazon or go to Best Buy to get one.”

(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; Computers/Internet; Conspiracy; Society
KEYWORDS: homecasing; homemonitoring; surveillance
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With the cheap price of phones and internet access this makes surveillance almost economical.
1 posted on 06/26/2025 5:55:01 AM PDT by where's_the_Outrage?
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

California, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York. Hmmm.. what do these states have in common?


2 posted on 06/26/2025 5:59:39 AM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (TDS much?)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

and probably using her WiFi ,LOL


3 posted on 06/26/2025 6:04:07 AM PDT by butlerweave
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To: EQAndyBuzz

All have high incomes and wealthy people.


4 posted on 06/26/2025 6:05:28 AM PDT by nwrep
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

Government’s already doing it. Might as well just make it easy for everyone by making it publicly available.


5 posted on 06/26/2025 6:07:37 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

They have drones down to the size of a dragonfly now, and maybe even smaller. It’s scary stuff... But it isn’t like we didn’t know this was coming. Lots of science fiction typically becomes science non-fiction. Privacy does not exist anymore and never really has... It’s just more in your face now.

As a person who’s done some geneology research... I can tell you this... There is a ton of information about your long dead relatives out there from the 19th century onwards... And that information is minor compared to the information maintained on everybody today. A person with the right tech and access can know everything about you... And they can use that to screw you over.


6 posted on 06/26/2025 6:09:31 AM PDT by jerod (Nazis were essentially Socialist in Hugo Boss uniforms... Get over it!)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

Phone stuck in the lawn is another problem solved by a lawn mower.


7 posted on 06/26/2025 6:09:54 AM PDT by glennaro (2025: The year of America's rebirth as a Great (and Free) Republic)
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To: glennaro

As long as you don’t damage the lawn mower.


8 posted on 06/26/2025 6:12:34 AM PDT by GaltAdonis
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

And the battery, with vid cam up and runnng, lasts 24 hours? Seems odd.


9 posted on 06/26/2025 6:14:37 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts (Perfection is impossible. But if you pursue perfection...you may achieve excellence.)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

Big Brother is watching, but so is everyone else.


10 posted on 06/26/2025 6:16:16 AM PDT by Salman (The main deception of media is not political bias. It's the pretense they know what is going on.)
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To: GaltAdonis

How do you charge the phone? You only get a few hours to use a phone in this manner.


11 posted on 06/26/2025 6:16:46 AM PDT by willgolfforfood
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To: willgolfforfood

Plug the charger into the victim’s house! DUH


12 posted on 06/26/2025 6:24:05 AM PDT by Lockbox (politicians, they all seemed like game show host to me.... Sting)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

I suspect the lawn service is involved. Lawn care can replace the phones as needed.


13 posted on 06/26/2025 6:25:25 AM PDT by vaskypilot
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To: glennaro

Phone stuck in the lawn is another problem solved by a lawn mower.

Who does the mowing ? An Illegal ? Did he plant(LOL) the phone ?


14 posted on 06/26/2025 6:25:28 AM PDT by butlerweave
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To: willgolfforfood

Pretty sure you just hide and wait for someone to come and retrieve it.


15 posted on 06/26/2025 6:25:50 AM PDT by Democrat = party of treason
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

If it’s buried, how does it track people?

What’s the point of having the camera uncovered then?


16 posted on 06/26/2025 6:30:52 AM PDT by metmom (He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus)
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

It’s a LOT EASIER just to tap into their Smart Meter, or the Flock System (license plate cameras throughout the US).


17 posted on 06/26/2025 6:37:36 AM PDT by BobL
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To: 9YearLurker

“Government’s already doing it. Might as well just make it easy for everyone by making it publicly available.”

And here is the problem. In almost all municipalities your front yard “Setback to lotline” is considered public right of way and public property. So there is nothing legal that can be done about it.

This is how Law enforcement can legally arrest you for drunk in public or DUI in your own driveway even though you are on/in your own front yard. Your front yard is not yours, it is considered public property.


18 posted on 06/26/2025 6:41:28 AM PDT by Openurmind (AI - An Illusion for Aptitude Intrusion to Alter Intellect. )
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To: Openurmind

We’ll own nothing and be happy?


19 posted on 06/26/2025 6:43:53 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: metmom

They just bury the bottom part up to the level of the camera. So a little bit with the camera is still above ground.


20 posted on 06/26/2025 6:44:15 AM PDT by Openurmind (AI - An Illusion for Aptitude Intrusion to Alter Intellect. )
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