Skip to main content
CNN.com International
The Web    CNN.com      Powered by
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ON TV
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Technology

Soft toys keep watch on nannies

By Jessica Le Masurier for CNN

story.teddycam.jpg
Teddy bears fitted with cameras are among the products sold at London shop Spymaster.
ON CNNI TV
Click here  for Spark show times on CNN International.
SPARK
Find out how tech is changing our lives  Click here
YOUR SAY
Send your thoughts on this story to spark@cnn.com or read what other viewers have to say
YOUR E-MAIL ALERTS
Espionage and Intelligence
Spark
Technology (general)

LONDON, England (CNN) -- The bright pink teddy bear looks innocent enough, but look into its eyes closely and it will record your every move.

The Bearcam is one of a number of increasingly popular gadgets being sold by London professional spy shop Spymaster, which sells almost every piece of security, surveillance and counter-espionage related equipment on the market.

The biggest supplier of its kind in Europe, employee Julia Adams told CNN that spying was becoming big business, as people became more concerned about security and technology became more advanced -- and more discreet.

"In an increasingly security-obsessed world, people and businesses are convinced they are being spied on," she said.

"More and more of them are hiring private detectives to sweep their homes and offices for bugs and planting bugs themselves."

The shop's display cabinets are full of seemingly innocuous everyday items but all of them are bugged in some way.

There's an alarm clock, a computer mouse, two-way mains adaptor transmitter, a pair of sunglasses which allow you to look backwards while appearing to look forwards, a stylish parker pen, "which you can subtly leave behind in a meeting, so you can continue to listen in after you've exited the room."

Adams says the Bearcam is one of the shop's best-selling items.

"It's usually purchased by paranoid nanny-watching parents. It has a secret mini-cam in its eye and a hidden microphone," she said.

The shop will fit the tiny camera inside most soft toys.

Adams said checking on whether spouses were faithful was also a common reason for people buying items from the shop.

Equally, partners who were worried they were being bugged could use counter surveillance to make sure that the coast is clear with a mini bug detector, a gadget the size of a key ring, which flashes frenetically if it comes anywhere near a bug.

There is also the bright orange box that, when rigged up to a telephone, enables you to change the sound of your voice dramatically -- it can make a man sound like a woman and a woman sound like a man.

But these gadgets are expensive -- the Bearcam costs £999 ($1,800), while the voice transformer is £935 ($1,700).

The best-value toy seems to be the less stylish pair of the 'see behind' sunglasses, which go for £25 ($45). Even to get a peep at the Spymaster catalogue you have to pay £40 ($73).

Most Spymaster clients are not interested in fooling around with James Bond-style gadgets, says Spymaster co-owner Michael Marks.

"Seventy five percent of our clients are from overseas. The majority of our business comes from large corporate bodies and governments," he told CNN.

"We do also sell to private customers, for example parents wanting to find out if their children are taking drugs."

The latest equipment is kept hidden, and checks are done on clients wanting to buy the more advanced equipment, he said.

"We run background checkups on any clients that want to purchase more sensitive equipment," Marks said.

"You can never be 100 percent sure but you can minimize the risk of selling to the wrong people. We have to be responsible."


Story Tools
Click Here to try 4 Free Trial Issues of Time! cover
Top Stories
Burgers, lattes and CD burners
Top Stories
EU 'crisis' after summit failure

CNN US
On CNN TV E-mail Services CNN Mobile CNN AvantGo CNNtext Ad info Preferences
SEARCH
   The Web    CNN.com     
Powered by
© 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.
A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines. Contact us.
external link
All external sites will open in a new browser.
CNN.com does not endorse external sites.
 Premium content icon Denotes premium content.