Wilshire-area neighborhoods were told to be particularly vigilant.

The Los Angeles Police Department has warned residents to be wary of thieves using technology to break into homes undetected. High-tech burglars have apparently knocked out their victims’ wireless cameras and alarms in the Los Angeles Wilshire-area neighborhoods before getting away with swag bags full of valuables. An LAPD social media post highlights the Wi-Fi jammer-supported burglaries and provides a helpful checklist of precautions residents can take.

Criminals can easily find the hardware for Wi-Fi jamming online. It can also be cheap, with prices starting from $40. However, jammers are illegal to use in the U.S.

We have previously reported on Wi-Fi jammer-assisted burglaries in Edina, Minnesota. Criminals deployed Wi-Fi jammer(s) to ensure homeowners weren’t alerted of intrusions and that incriminating video evidence wasn’t available to investigators.

  • @[email protected]English
    37•4 months ago

    I wish that apps notified you when your camera has been unreachable for too long, but at least that’s a hint that a jammer may have been involved. Cameras won’t stop them, but a the best setups would rely on wires and hidden local and cloud storage for recordings and alerts.

    • GhostalmediaEnglish
      10•4 months ago

      A numbers of cameras tell the user when they go offline, but yeah, a lot do not. I have a HomeKit system that sends an alert when WiFi or power has been interrupted to the camera or the primary hub.

    • @piecatEnglish
      2•4 months ago

      Especially if X# of cameras are down

    • @UnderpantsWeevilEnglish
      1•4 months ago

      apps notified you when your camera has been unreachable for too long

      The volume of false positives this produced would render the system significantly less useful.