Tiny spy gear that fits in a USB cable widely available in China

Cheating husband? Want to see if your kids are safe? Surveillance gear is cheap and easy to find

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USB cable equipped with a GPS tracker. (Picture: Taobao)

Published: 10:15pm, 7 Nov 2018Updated: 8:44am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

When Mr. and Ms. Li moved in a shared apartment room in Beijing at the beginning of the year, they didn’t expect that nearly six months later they’d discover a tiny camera hidden in their electricity socket. According to media, the camera was installed with a view of their bed, was equipped with a 16GB memory card, and could transmit videos through Wi-Fi.

Three months after the device was discovered, neither the police nor the rental agency Ziroom (backed by Tencent) have figured out who put it there -- or where it came from. The reason is simple: there are literally hundreds of spy cameras available on ecommerce platforms in China. Other spy equipment can be bought too, including GPS trackers and voice recorders hidden in inconspicuous objects.

Cameras and bugs can be hidden in a pen, an alarm clock, car keys, a light bulb, and even in sneakers. Online stores offer office ID cards with GPS tracking and voice recording for "lazy workers" that run late. Some devices are so tiny that they hide GPS trackers and voice recorders inside USB cords or USB chargers.

Online sellers advertise the spy hardware as a convenient way to safeguard your property and uncover cheating partners.

“The product is good. Good camouflage, not easy to find," writes one satisfied buyer. "I guess it’s premarital fear, I grew suspicious and placed it in my fiancé’s car. He never found out." (Apparently, she never caught him in the act.)