A woman has issued a warning after she allegedly found 10 creepy spy cameras concealed around a rental property she booked on Airbnb.

The traveller shared her "scary ordeal" after realising there was cameras "hidden all over the house" during her stay in Philadelphia, USA.

The Twitter user named @foxytaughtyou said people "should be cautious" and said, "some were disguised as sprinkler systems."

She was left severely creeped out when her friend reportedly came across more "in the showers and bedrooms."

She said the platform moved them to another property after they alerted Philadelphia police.

Airbnb have since offered her a refund but claim police have told them they found no hidden cameras at the property.

The woman tweeted on June 13: “We reported this to [Airbnb] and to the police station Friday noon and still have not had a update on this case.

“We have no idea what footage this owner has and what he is doing with it!

“This is so UNSAFE, and scary! Thank God we noticed the cameras and got out of there!”

In a video on TikTok, the pair said they fell asleep on the sofa and discovered the cameras on the ceiling when they woke up.

She added: “We were creeped out and we decided to look everywhere in the Airbnb, all over the ceiling, and see if there’s any more cameras.

The woman tweeted on June 13: “We reported this to [Airbnb] and to the police station Friday noon and still have not had a update on this case.

“We discovered that the sprinklers had a camera lens. We got on the chair and we did a flash test on these sprinklers and they are cameras.”

A spokesperson for Airbnb told The Independent: “Our policies strictly prohibit hidden cameras and we take forceful action in the exceptionally rare circumstances where this has been reported, including assisting law enforcement to help them hold criminals accountable.

“In this case, our Safety team has suspended this Host and removed this listing from our platform while we thoroughly investigate this report. We are also providing support to our guest, including a full refund.”

Airbnb has since confirmed to the Daily Star that police investigators are planning to close the case.

However, the company said they will still support the customer and issue them a refund.

"We have thoroughly looked into this allegation as we do for all safety reports," the spokesperson said.

"Today, we spoke directly with the lead detective from the Philadelphia Police Department who responded to the complaint and investigated the property.

"He confirmed that he did not find any hidden or undisclosed cameras and that the fire sprinklers had regular sprinklerheads.

"The detective also confirmed that they plan to close this case."

https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/womans-horror-after-discovering-10-27235216

Sincerely whenever I check into a new hotel room these days, I first switch off the lights and scan the room with my phone camera. So many sick people out there today.

Modified
For the questions regarding how to detect a hidden camera, most cameras emit infrared radiation which is not visible to the naked eye but your phone's lens can pick it up as a blue whitish light if you hold it close enough. Switching off the room light helps you spot it better when the room is dark.
Hope this helps. There are also downloadable apps that are tailor made for detecting cameras. Search on Playstore or Apple store

You can also check this article for more tips
https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-detect-hidden-camera-using-android-4590372

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Perverts...
I guess that's how they blackmail people.

hhhmmmmmm

If the police(American police) says no camera was discovered, then I reserve my comment for now.

Airbnb have since offered her a refund but claim police have told them they found no hidden cameras at the property.

So who is now lying
And what do people believe?!

Meanwhile,
While it’s not against Airbnb’s terms of service for a security camera to be installed on a hosted property, there are clear guidelines around the practice.
Any camera on the premises has to be disclosed, even if it’s outside or not working, and it can’t be installed in private spaces like bedrooms or bathrooms.

Some hosts, however, either haven’t got the memo about disclosure or choose to ignore it. That’s slightly less of a privacy concern when the camera is in plain view in a common area, but when it’s hidden inside a fake smoke detector, alarm clock, or picture frame?

That’s a real problem.

Ikokobara:

Boss how will you know there's a camera there??

olisaEze:

How do you check for cameras in the room with ur phone?

Eriokanmi:
How do you detect a hidden camera in that case? Abeg, ja mi si. Tnx

Let's help with the little we know about this.
Here you go....

All cameras have lens, and all lenses reflect light to some degree.
As a result, one of the easiest checks you can do for a hidden camera is to simply close the curtains, turn the lights off, and use your phone’s flashlight to look for telltale reflections where they shouldn’t be.

Since light needs to hit the lens at the right angle to be reflected back to you, you’ll need to scan the room slowly, and shine the light from different spots.
Note that this approach won’t work for a camera that’s hidden inside a mirror, or anything else with a highly-reflective surface.

You do the phone thing as stated above after physically checking these everyday household items in the room.

Smoke detector.
AC power adapter.
Alarm sensor.
TelephoneDesk or standing lamp.
Power outlet.
Wall clock.
Mirror.
Alarm clock.
Soap dish.
Ceiling.
Toothbrush holder.
Tissue boxes.
DVD player or other set-top box

We hope this helps.

Nawah o... Just to see people unclad and all? This life just dey near rapture every day.

Airbnb essentially is someone offering his or her private residence for tourists and travellers to stay for short term

Naturally owner won't want any of his or her property to be stolen or damaged hence that may be why the cameras are there.

It may not be for ulterior motives.

Modified

The reason for my comment has a lot to do with complaints about damage to airbnb properties by some renters. A bath camera may be bad, but elsewhere...better

Today, we spoke directly with the lead detective from the Philadelphia Police Department who responded to the complaint and investigated the property.

He confirmed that he did not find any hidden or undisclosed cameras and that the fire sprinklers had regular sprinklerheads.

The detective also confirmed that they plan to close this case

Dis matter get as e be, no further comment.
Atleast these ain't African Police, these are Philadelphia Police Department.

Unfortunately on Nairaland.com, some people only read the headlines and start foaming and typing nonsense.

This is a case of she says, he says rn.

They wanted to see nyash.
America is still learning work.
The real masters are in Japan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggYIsnUgUdU

While this has its advantages, I don't think having cameras in the bathroom is such a great idea, except there's an ulterior motive.
Pervs

Sound like all those horror movies.

I don't know if I am being paranoid or what, but whenever I check in any hotel, I turn off the light and scan the whole place with my phone's camera - you can't be too careful.

Anyways, according to this post, the police did not find any hidden cameras

Spying at ur VJ and bobby

Sad that these keeps happening from time to time, before you check in an hotel properly, observe the room and check for any hidden camera

Once thought Airbnb was a crypto name

Movie of the week

Many hotels in Nigeria do this same thing

This one dey ok na

In lagos hotels , they peep u directly from man made holes

ArchiLimited:
Sincerely whenever I check into a new hotel room these days, I first switch off the lights and scan the room with my phone camera. So many sick people out there today.

That's the best way to go, you wouldn't want anybody to blackmail you with your nude pictures in the future.

ArchiLimited:
Sincerely whenever I check into a new hotel room these days, I first switch off the lights and scan the room with my phone camera. So many sick people out there today.

Na so oooo
Na so i just see one nw, na laugh first catch me
Me na boy oyoyo observer

Nawa ooo, I think authorities should be mean to this kind of menace

Hmm

So wrong

ArchiLimited:
Sincerely whenever I check into a new hotel room these days, I first switch off the lights and scan the room with my phone camera. So many sick people out there today.

how do I conduct that using my phone?

Setup and blackmail agenda

Nothing to say for now
Longest time FAM

The what ifs tho!
What if the cameras are for security and safety reasons?
What if the house owner is into voyeurism?

Plus Privacy is an illusion, Like other illusions we've made ourselves believe. It's safe to already assume that as far as you're holding a phone in your hand right now you no longer have a right to privacy.