The Conversation (0)
Sinead Butler
Oct 19, 2021
A woman was left stunned when she discovered a discarded receipt for secret surveillance equipment - including audio recorders and hidden cameras - in the Airbnb she was staying in.
Upon her stay coming to an end, TikToker Arlen and her boyfriend came across a random receipt under the bed during their clean-up.
In the video, Arlen shares the receipt in full which details the address the order was shipped and also itemised the list of purchases which included a pocket keychain audio recorder, USB flash drive audio recorder, iPhone case hidden camera, power bank hidden camera, and 16 hour voice activated recorder.
Consequently, the TikToker’s video went viral with over 520,000 views and led to concerned viewers telling Arlen to report this information to the police and sharing ways to see if the surveillance equipment has been set up.
One person wrote: “Try a [sic] find a way to report it and take pics... they’re not allowed to do that, it’s against the law.”
“Get your money back from Airbnb, hosts are required to disclose camera [sic] and Airbnb WILL give you your money back for this,” another person said.
Someone else added: “Turn off all the lights and look thru your phone camera. If there’s any hidden camera it’ll show on your phone as a red dot.”
“Check all the furniture and see if anything is taped up under them,” a fourth person replied.
The TikToker provided further background in a follow-up video as to why they were staying in an Airbnb in the first place.
She told viewers, that her, her boyfriend and her sister all moved from Utah to Texas two and a half months ago and where staying in an Airbnb while they sort out getting their own house.
They check in to different Airbnb’s on a monthly basis to get the best deal and this was the second they had stayed in where they discovered the receipt.
Although she says the place was “affordable” but said that it was “our fault that we didn’t look into the neighbourhood” which she described as “sketchy.”
“As soon as we entered the home, we realised that it weren’t the same pictures that were put up on the website,” she adds, noting how the house was “a lot smaller and cramped.”
Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter
When she found German roaches in the kitchen, the TikToker requested if they could move or have their money back, and was told there was another room downstairs in the four plex.
After living at the place for an entire month, it wasn’t until the end of their stay that the receipt was discovered just before they checked out.
During their clean-up, Arlen’s boyfriend found the receipt under the bed and Arlen lists the surveillance equipment that was ordered.
“So these are things that you would never think are recording you at all,” she says.
She then explained the address on the receipt is actually two streets down from her so wasn’t sent to the Airbnb but somehow found its way inside where she was staying.
Arlen then shared her theory as to what might have happened, she said: “What I think happened is somebody took the equipment in there and accidentally dropped that because it was something that was shipped so I’m guessing it just fell out of a box and didn’t even realize it.”
In the end, her boyfriend and sister were unable to find any recording equipment before they left, but Arlen noted: “These are things you can stare at and not know if they are a camera or not so it was hard without any equipment.”
However, they did call an emergency number but said “they weren’t helpful at all.” Instead, Airbnb were “a bit more helpful” and said they would contact their safety team and asked for the receipt.
Since then someone from the safety team got in touch with them and asked a few more questions before saying they will update them on what happens.
Indy100 has contacted Airbnb for comment.