A woman from the Netherlands became the victim of a 2017 sci-fi horror plot after purchasing a cheap internet-connected webcam.
Rilana Hamer wanted an inexpensive way to monitor her puppy while she was away from the house, so she did what anyone else would do—go to the local convenient store and pick out a good-enough device that she could connect to her smartphone.
After a trip to a discount store called Action, Hamer went home and set up her new gadget, connecting it to her home Wi-Fi, and adding a password. But after a short while, the webcam started exhibiting some strange behavior: Hamer claims she started to hear noises. After initially disregarding the sounds, she started growing unnerved and decided to investigate. What she discovered is the stuff of nightmares.
“I thought I was going crazy,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “I suddenly heard sounds in the living room. I walked up there and saw my camera move.”
Someone was looking at her on the other end. Then a voice, “Bonjour Madame,” it whispered.
At this point, most people would have taken a hammer to the French intruder, but Hamer was curious, “Hi, is anyone there?” (in English). Again, a voice followed, “Bonjour madame, tout bien avec vous.” The woman had enough, she quickly unplugged the device and stuffed it back in its box.
“I was full of fear and thought I was crazy,” Hamer said in the post. “I’m being watched, but for how long? What has that person seen from me? My house, my personal possessions…”
Determined to get to the bottom of it, Hamer says she recruited a friend to set up the webcam one more time. Here’s what she claims happened less than a minute later (warning, bad language).
https://www.facebook.com/rilana.hamer/videos/1401604073242531/
Hamer reportedly returned the camera to Action, which is investigating the incident, according to Dutch news outlet RTL. It’s not clear what caused the problems, but the company claims this is the first reported incident and thinks Hamer may have incorrectly set up her Wi-Fi and password. This may not be the last time we see videos like this: Action claims its multilingual webcams are almost sold out.
We’ve reached out to Action for an update on its investigation and to determine the make and model of the camera. We will update this post with any response we receive.
H/T the Next Web