NEW BURGLARY TECHNIQUE: PLANTING A PHONE CAMERA IN YOUR YARD

A Queens, New York, woman found what looked like a phone buried in her front lawn. The Android phone was wrapped in black tape, with only the camera exposed, pointed at the house. Police say burglars are now doing this to spy on homeowners, tracking their daily routines or scouting for valuables left outside, so they know when to strike. Similar incidents have popped up across the Tri-State Area, and police say covert surveillance cases like this are now turning up across the country. Police recommend trimming hedges to eliminate hiding spots, installing motion-detecting lights and staying alert for camouflaged devices that could be stashed in your yard.
* If you’re looking for an excuse to not mow your lawn, this is it. Let the long grass block the camera.
* Maybe it’s just another stupid TikTok challenge of watching grass grow.
* Technology. Wonderful, wonderful technology to make our lives easier.
* It was so much harder in the old days, when a burglar would have to sit outside in a lawn chair and report back to base with a walkie-talkie.