As a home-owner living in a middle class neighbourhood, I am aware of the security situation in my town. Just like many other places, low crime does not mean no crime. In the current economic downturn since 2008, petty crime is on the rise. This include house breaking when no one home or even when you are asleep at night. To my horror, I was told that the house of my neighbour was broken in when she was away just 10 minutes to get a bread from a nearby shop! To prevent this, one needs to arm his or herself with preventive measures such as installing a security camera around one’s home.
If you are on a budget, fake security camera could be an option. To some, this has proven a good return on investment while others, fake cam does not provide a peace of mind when knowingly that no video will be record in case of break-in. Before you buy any dummy surveillance camera, do read on.
Besides budget, fake camera also does not involve with high installation and maintenance cost. Instead of installing a complex IT system, you simply need to fix the camera to the wall. This has proven so effective in many cases for those who are not very handy at home – like me for instance.
What is fake home security camera?
Fake or dummy security camera is designed to look like the real CCTV surveillance camera. It comes with many shape and design such as dome cam, bullet cam, camera with LED, non-operating camera with wireless control system and even with flashing light (I wouldn’t recommend buying any fake security cam with flashing light though as it looks so fake!).
As a core of its design, dummy camera does nothing. I mean nothing! Once you fix it to the wall or corner of your wall, it will not record any video nor alert you with any threat if any. Hence, while you can deter some would be crime, a well trained thieves would immediately know the camera is a fake one.
TIPS: Do not buy the fake outdoor camera with flashing light because it is too fake. A real camera would not emit any flashing light at all!
Why should You use dummy camera?
Installing a fake security camera around your home could deter many would-be thief. Have you get an experience when you go shopping and notice the sense of being watch due to those dome security on the ceiling? Well, yes this sensation would also give the bad guy a chance to talk to himself out of the crime he intends to commit.
Unlike the real security camera, the dummy version does not cost a fortune and require little maintenance. First, you just need to buy and install once. Therefore the cost of owning a fake camera for your home is a one time off. Second, the maintenance cost is minimal and just require little time to wipe some dirt off to keep it look real.
Be warned though that fake camera does not replace any real version. It does not capture any any unfortunate event and hence its function is purely to deter any crime from happening. As a result, fake surveillance camera is recommended in places where high crime rate is a normal way of life.
So what type of fake security camera should you buy?
Although cost is one factor, you should not buy the cheapest dummy security camera at all. This is because you would not want to invest some money and end up with a toy liked camera.
Instead, select the middle price range camera instead i.e. between $20 to $50. They are much sturdier and would last longer. Some even come with the LED to imitate the real camera. In term of the design, I suggest the ARMO Dummy Cam with realistic look LED as it is the best seller currently on Amazon. When buying this cam, the seller will also throw in a bonus of large Warning sign – see photo below.
Where to buy Fake Camera?
While you can buy any dummy camera any where, from your neighbourhood IT store to large retail store such as Walmart or Home Depot or Target, I suggest buying it online for convenient sake. Especially, you shall consider buying the fake security cameras on Amazon for the best deal.
Conclusion Thought
- Install the fake security camera with the real ones in your CCTV surveillance system to achieve the best value of money. This way it would serve the purpose of confusing any thief.
- If you are installing several cameras at once (say 5 camera bundle package), put the numbering on it as 1, 2, 3, 5, 7 so that if the thief found just 5 camera, they would be wondering where the other two is. Hence you are wasting the would be thief time.
- Finally, below are my final words on functionality to make any fake security camera look real:
- Should be waterproof
- Ability to emit infrared light for nigh view
- Do not buy any flashing or blinking light as it looks too fake.
- Push the wire into the mounting bracket to make it compact and as if the wire is wire inside your home.
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