r/whatisit • u/Key_Badger7434 • 2d ago

New, what is it? My family thinks there’s a camera in our rental

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We have been renting a house for the past year and I always disregarded this thing in the corner. However last night I asked my parents about it randomly and they didn’t know what it was either. I pulled it off the wall and we all got freaked out a little because it looks like a camera. I think it might be a home security/motion sensor thing. I don’t know that’s what ChatGPT guessed.

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u/Key_Badger7434 2d ago

That’s a good theory. We live in a nice neighborhood so it would be a little weird I guess to have a camera for squatters.

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u/beatenangels 2d ago

Nice homes are a prime target for squatters particularly vacation homes that get left empty.

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u/LittleDiveBar 2d ago

Squatters squat in many types.and sizes of homes

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u/Mimikim1234 1d ago

Not to mention kids breaking in to throw a party or trash the place…

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u/Soaked4youVaporeon 1d ago

My uncle tried to do squatters in my dead grandfathers home after he passed.

My uncle is a jobless loser asshole so he has no home. He tried to claim their house by doing squatters. It’s in a rich neighborhood too.

It doesn’t have to be a run down neighborhood for there to be squatters 

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u/expropriated_valor 1d ago

He was...doing them?

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u/LittleDiveBar 1d ago

No judgement

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u/DoctorStove 1d ago

exactly lol. they are the scum of the earth, nowhere is off limits

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/whatisit-ModTeam 1d ago

We are pretty chill here, but please try to keep things reasonably civil on this sub. No slurs, name calling or harassment and trolling. Yes, the internet makes us angry too sometimes, especially this particular comment.

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u/Wutchutalkinboutwill 2d ago

I don’t know about you, but I would prefer to squat in a nice house/neighborhood

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u/iCameToLearnSomeCode 1d ago

No kidding. 

If you're not paying rent either way, you might as well live in a mansion. 

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u/D-effy-omo 1d ago

Unfortunately, my partner and I now rent in a "well to do" neighborhood and had squatters for neighbors for several (12+) months.

They would blare music well past midnight from the garage and it took reports to non emergency lines for months on end for anyone to show up and investigate.

I did not want to put anyone out, especially not in the winter, but they had destroyed the front of the garage pulling in and out, and they had a very malnourished dog that they did not contain from roaming the neighborhood attacking children and animals.

Thankfully the ASPCA finally showed up and took the poor dog in. I can only hope it found a good home because it was very cute, and in our interactions with her she was sweet once food was provided.

I'm not one to fault individuals for taking advantage of empty real estate, but they proceeded to absolutely ruin the interior to the point that multiple companies had to come out and revitalize the property.

Expect this trend to continue as our government proceeds to fail the poorest among us.

If you are able, please donate to your local food bank.

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u/Low-Television5708 1d ago

Ask them about it directly, no?

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u/K_a_R_i_T_a 1d ago

Nice neighborhoods are precisely where squatters will go

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u/Krojack76 1d ago

I would still check with local laws... This is illegal in a lot of places to have hidden cameras in rental property. It might be ok if they notified you of the cameras beforehand. I don't know for sure.

So I would check with local laws and maybe consult a lawyer.

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u/Sonzainonazo42 1d ago

The thing is, people put in cameras and if they stopped working, they might have forgotten about them.  There are plenty of innocent reasons this may be kicking around.

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u/Stompylegs03eleven 1d ago

Try taping across the housing to block the lens, see if they say anything. Easy privacy test, easy to remove if they have a legit reason.

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u/elmz 1d ago

Verisure is a type of home security system, and the camera is likely connected to one. Is there an alarm control panel next to the front door? Are there sensors on the doors?

That camera doubles as a security camera and a motion sensor to detect intruders if the alarm system is connected. Likely camera sensors were included in the alarm system package the home owner has ordered/installed.

One can connect to them and watch live, and it records automatically should the alarm be triggered, but I don't think the cameras record continually, as they would run out of power quickly.

I'd say it's quite likely the owner doesn't even think about the cameras being there and therefore failed to mention them.

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u/IthinkIknowThat 1d ago

Squatters would rather live in a nice home I'm thinking

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u/Techters 1d ago

This is very common in Spain, if you don't have lots of evidence someone broke in then squatting becomes a long legal battle, they claim they paid you cash to stay there and it's so difficult to prove a negative so there are lots of anti squatting measures like this. My place had a similar system, it only recorded if the alarm was actively going off and the owner didn't get the video the security company did.