Tourists find secret camera at Airbnb
Scottish couple uncover ‘spy’ device in clock
TORONTO • A Scottish tourist vacationing in Canada suggests people should consider refraining from booking accommodations through Airbnb after he found a video camera concealed in a digital clock at an apartment he rented in Toronto last week.
Toronto police and Airbnb are investigating the discovery Dougie Hamilton says he made last Thursday, shortly after he and his girlfriend arrived at the rented condo in the city’s downtown core.
The two were excited to decompress in the “lovely apartment” after a busy day, the 34-year-old from Glasgow wrote in a Facebook post over the weekend, only to be shaken by what they found on a table in the living room.
“If you use Airbnb, then you’ll definitely want to read this and possibly stop using them,” Hamilton wrote.
Hamilton says he was lounging on the couch while his girlfriend went to buy coffee at Starbucks when he noticed the clock facing in his direction. Weeks earlier, he had watched an online video that detailed how small cameras can now be embedded in all sorts of everyday objects, from pens to buttons to teddy bears’ eyes. The memory triggered in him a burning curiosity to check if the clock contained a “spy camera.”
After fighting off the impulse for several minutes, Hamilton wrote, he stood up to probe the clock just as his girlfriend walked through the front door. A series of photos Hamilton posted to Facebook appear to show him removing the clock’s clear front casing, a process that revealed a hidden camera lens on the left-hand side of the device.
“It could see everything. We didn’t know if the owner had been watching,” Hamilton told the Daily Record in Scotland. “We’re innocentminded people, but the clock was facing where our bed was and we thought it might be for something more sinister like a sex ring.”
Toronto police confirmed Monday they were in touch with Hamilton late last week.
Det. Ken Lee, an officer assigned to the case, said the force’s investigation remains ongoing. He added that police have yet to interview the owner of the apartment, which he said is located “somewhere in and around King Street West,” a major commercial street that cuts through Toronto’s fashion and entertainment districts.
Lindsey Scully, a spokeswoman for Airbnb, said the company refunded Hamilton for his stay and removed the host who rented him the apartment from its platform pending the outcome of an internal investigation.
“We take privacy issues extremely seriously and have a zero-tolerance policy for this behaviour,” Scully said in an email. “Airbnb hosts must fully disclose whether there are security cameras or other surveillance equipment at or around the listing and get consent where required. Cameras are never allowed in bathrooms or bedrooms.”