We manage a small gas station convenience store in the heart of the city. And we have only 2 to 3 people working given that the gas station is self-serve. Around the middle of summer a year ago we hired a temporary employee to man the cash registers.
Almost right away we observed that store items would go missing every time he was around. I had to catch him in the act to confirm this so I went to a local home security store to get the cheapest hidden camera that I could get.
Surveillance cameras may be used to watch an area covertly for suspicious activity. They are usually built to resemble ordinary household or office items in order that no person will know they are being monitored.
I purchased a stick video camera with audio and mini DVR. It is an all-in-one video and audio recorder that utilizes a micro SD card for storage. All you have to do to be able to get the video is to place the card into a card reader and download it with a laptop or computer.
I recruited the assistance of a trusted friend one whom our brand new employee had never met in the past. I advised him to attach my spy camera to his front shirt pocket and to enter our store and pretend to buy something.
Unfortunately that didnt work out. The camera didnt catch virtually any suspicious behavior so I decided to try another route. I clipped my DVR stick hidden camera to a nearby store display one early morning and left it there the whole day.
As soon as I went back to check the video I was stunned. On the video and in the recorded audio I saw him being visited by a pal from the neighborhood who asked him for free drinks and snacks from the store and he obliged.
Later I confronted him with regards to this behavior and showed him the proof I had obtained. He confessed to the offense and we fired him on the spot. This taught me that even the cheapest hidden camera could be of good quality and get the job done.