Talkative homebuyers beware, the seller might be listening

Description: Real estate agent says clients used audio, video surveillance to eavesdrop on potential buyers

Source: CBC.CA

Date: Jan 16, 2019

Homebuyers should watch what they say during home viewings, according to an Ontario real estate agent who says two of her clients recently used cameras and microphones to eavesdrop on potential buyers.

Juliana Webster says the rules should be changed to force sellers to say if homes are under surveillance.

“When you go into a private home you don’t naturally expect [surveillance],” said Webster, who works in Hamilton.

The wrong sort of comment, she warns, “could be used against the buyer, like, if they said, ‘Oh, we would totally pay much more for the house.'”

Webster said she was unaware of the surveillance until her clients mentioned it. One offered to help a potential buyer who had been observed trying to use an appliance in the home. The other heard something that assured them the sale would go through.   READ REST OF STORY

 Questions for discussion:

1) “When you go into a private home you don’t naturally expect [surveillance]”?  is this true? why or why not?

2) Should there be a law to prevent surveillance in your own home during a home buying visit?  Could this not be a problem with any transaction, sellers or buyerse are going to try get an unequal amount of information before making proposals?

Talkative homebuyers beware, the seller might be listening

Description: Real estate agent says clients used audio, video surveillance to eavesdrop on potential buyers

Source: CBC.CA

Date: Jan 16, 2019

Homebuyers should watch what they say during home viewings, according to an Ontario real estate agent who says two of her clients recently used cameras and microphones to eavesdrop on potential buyers.

Juliana Webster says the rules should be changed to force sellers to say if homes are under surveillance.

“When you go into a private home you don’t naturally expect [surveillance],” said Webster, who works in Hamilton.

The wrong sort of comment, she warns, “could be used against the buyer, like, if they said, ‘Oh, we would totally pay much more for the house.'”

Webster said she was unaware of the surveillance until her clients mentioned it. One offered to help a potential buyer who had been observed trying to use an appliance in the home. The other heard something that assured them the sale would go through.   READ REST OF STORY

 Questions for discussion:

1) “When you go into a private home you don’t naturally expect [surveillance]”?  is this true? why or why not?

2) Should there be a law to prevent surveillance in your own home during a home buying visit?  Could this not be a problem with any transaction, sellers or buyerse are going to try get an unequal amount of information before making proposals?

The Perils of Snapchat

Description:  CNN’s Samuel Burke looks at the new Snapchat Leaked website, which reveals people’s private photos.

Source: cnn.com

Date: May 31 2013

Click on link to see video case

http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/tech/2013/05/31/exp-idesk-snapchat-leaked.cnn.html

Questions for discussion:

1.  Do you see this issue with Snapchat as a problem? Why or Why not?

2.  What are some possible downsides of this service?

Is Someone Recording This? It’s Harder to Find Out

Description: The undercover F.B.I. agent, posing as a businessman, was recording the conversation with a device secreted someplace close enough to capture the politician’s words, but obscure enough to remain undetected.

Source: nytimes.com

Date: April 7, 2013

Today, eavesdropping equipment is sophisticated enough to record high-definition video and sound, and stream it live to a remote computer. Devices no bigger than a pen cap can be slipped into a coat pocket and easily record through the person’s clothing, said Bob Leonard, a retired police officer and founder of the Spy Store, which sells a quarter-sized item called the “Super Mini Covert Wireless Camera” and recording devices disguised as a calculator, cigarette carton or cordless phone.

“Short of having the person stripped down naked, it’s almost impossible to detect,” Mr. Pollini said.  READ REST OF STORY

 Questions for discussion:

1. With this new technology, what protections if any should people have to their privacy of not being recorded secretly?  Should there different standards for government vs private citizens?

2. Are smart phones a part of this wiretapping and eavesdropping devices and methods?  How can we protect ourselves from being secretly recorded?