While 9 month old Emily plays in a crib, her young, single mother gets ready to go to work. She recently hired a part-time nanny to watch after Emily during the day.
Her daughter was the happiest baby anyone had ever met. Always laughing and smiling, having fun and being a baby. But after a few weeks Emily’s disposition changed drastically. Her mother thought it may have been from a lack of naps and sat down with the nanny to emphasize the importance of a schedule.
Not wanting to take any chances, Emily’s mother purchased an Air Freshener with a hidden camera and digital video recorder built inside. It was very simple to use…she just plugged it in, chose to record only when motion was detected and hit record.
She returned home from work one afternoon to find Emily down for an afternoon nap. She almost felt guilty for sneaking around with the hidden camera.
After saying her goodbye’s to the nanny and settling in from her day of work she decided to review the video.
Much to her dismay, she saw that her daughter was left in a play pen in the living room for the first 4 hours while the nanny slept. After the nanny couldn’t sleep through baby Emily’s cries any longer the nanny would let her roam freely around the house. The mother’s anger is building and building.
A little further in to the recording, she watches as some friends of the nanny’s show up at the house. During this time, it seems the nanny locked little Emily in her room.
Still angry, of course, Emily’s mom continued to watch. Tears filled her eyes as she watched the nanny slap her child. The nanny would walk by Emily and kick her out of the way. She picked her up like a rag doll and tossed her onto the furniture.
Emily’s mom stopped the recording, grabbed the phone, and went to Emily. While dialing the police, she picked Emily up from the crib and noticed bruising on various parts of her body, including her face.
Thankfully, because of the nanny cam purchase, a trip to the emergency room, and a police report filed, Emily is alive and healthy today. A nanny is in jail.

Nanny Cameras

Happy Veterans Day to all who have served both past and present. It is greatly appreciated!

Thank a vet today!

Today I talked to a friend who works for a sports photography company in Florida. It’s a close knit group of people with a love for capturing the priceless moments in sports. Tonight, however, their pockets and arsenal of equipment are alot lighter.

Saturday started just like other. The vans were packed with cameras, lights, backdrops and tents. Several teams headed to photo shoots all over town. They set-up, they shot pictures, they broke down and went home.

It was a normal practice to leave everything in the van, hiding the camera bag and money box. They would unload everything next week. But someone beat ‘em to it.

They returned to find the van door had been pried open with a crow bar, the cameras were removed from the camera bag, lenses and flash along with $2000 cash was stolen from the van.

The thief or possibly thieves, entered the studio and went for the book keepers desk where they made off with more cash.

The owners know it was an inside job because the thieves left anything that was really important to the company. Things like storage cards that held hundreds of pictures, laptops that also stored several thousand pictures and other expensive electronics.

This is the biggest mistake of victims: creating opportunity. Too many people knew how and where equipment and cash was stored and access to these things was completely unrestricted.

It really hurt the owner and I don’t mean financially. He thought he could trust the people who work for him. He learned the hard way.

And now, after it’s too late, he is looking for ways to protect his business. I suggested things like the Motion Detector Hidden Camera with Built-In DVR, the AutoDialer which will call up to 5 phone numbers if motion is detected, a few Doorbraces, hidden safes for petty cash and even pepper spray for the employees while at work.

His total loss is somewhere around $5000.00. Wouldn’t you feel more at ease if your assets were protected?

Hidden Cameras

Yesterday after my email, I received another great tip from a reader. If you use the suction cup attachment for a portable GPS system in your car, make sure you wipe off the mark it leaves on the window. Leaving the smudge lets people know you have a GPS system and could interest them enough to break in.

Today’s story also is related to vehicle safety. You may have been following the story of the three college girls who went missing while on a stargazing expedition in North Dakota.

They were discovered yesterday in ten feet of water hidden by tall grass at the bottom of a pond. Authorities say they probably drove straight into the pond because they were unfamiliar with the area and couldn’t see in the dark.

When I think about 10 feet of water, it doesn’t seem like much. But when a car is submerged the whole situation changes. It is important that you know exactly what to do should this ever happen. There is no room for error.

The moment you enter the water your mind is racing and you panic as you reach for the seat belt. The car will begin to sink and tilt vertically because of the weight of the engine. Water will begin to rush in. The most important thing to do is NOT follow the bubbles. Air is escaping through the trunk because the car is sinking head first and will likely turn upside down.

1. Immediately open a window if you can. If you cannot get a window down, because anything could happen, you should have an Emergency Hammer in your car. This tool has 2 very sharp hammers that will break a window or windshield instantly. It is important to keep this tool in a very accessible place.

2. After the window is opened or broken, unbuckle your seat belt. If you do this before opening a window, you will likely be swept to the back of the vehicle with the current of the water. If the seat belt is jammed, you can also use the Emergency Hammer to cut it.

3. Prepare any passengers as the vehicle is sinking. Get out and swim to the surface. The longer you stay in the submerged vehicle, the lower your chances for survival.

Remember to break a window first! Create an escape path immediately. If you don’t, you will have to wait until the car is almost fully submerged and pressure has equaled out. Then try lowering the window, breaking it with your seat belt or brace yourself for kicking it out.

With the Emergency Hammer, you have a glass breakage hammer and a seat belt cutter all in one.

I received an email that I wanted to share with you. I won’t share the actual email because it tells a story that is a little over the top. But there are two important messages.

GPS systems are everywhere now. Some are portable, some are built into cars. One feature of these systems is the ability to store addresses in them. You can even name these addresses for quick reference such as “home” or “in-laws” whatever it may be.

The story was about a car that was stolen from a parking lot. The thieves used the car owners GPS, found a saved address named “home” and went to their house to break in. Somebody had their thinking caps on that day.

First lesson, don’t save your home address in your GPS. Save a local store or somewhere close to home.

Second lesson, don’t leave valuables out where people can see them. Criminals act on opportunity. A purse or expensive electronic is like an invitation to a thief. Hide things under seats or better yet, lock them in the trunk.

A diversion safe is a great way to hide valuables in plain sight. No one is going to think twice about a JB Engine Degreaser.