Trying to catch our prankster in the act

kccustom

kccustom

Active Member
I am having trouble catching our prankster at work, here is what is going on maybe yall can give me some ideas.

Each shift has a cabinet with a lock shared by 3 people, one of the guys on shift 2 has figured out a way to get into our cabinet (shift 3) but he wont admit to getting in it, he likes to take stuff out and move stuff around just harmless fun but I want to catch him red handed.

I was thinking one of the game/scouting cameras but after looking at the prices there aint no way I am going to spend 60 bucks (cheapest I could find) just for play.

I need some ideas that are battery operated and cheap lets say on a 20 dollar budget.

I posted this over at cctv forums but nobody had any good ideas, I should have posted it here first ;)
 
Does it have to be CCTV? Some sort of switch at the back of the cabinet that only your shift knew about, connected to a circuit (I was thinking of some sort of electric firecracker/pyrotechnic sounder/whistle but that may be dangerous) with a solenoid that presses the plunger on a disposable 35mm camera when the door is opened or light is deteced, the switch at the back disarms the circuit to prevent your camera wasting shots. Develop your photos to have some nice clear pictures, only problem would be the offender noticing your camera and taking the film out for you...
 
Do you have anything at all laying around? I'm just thinking of my own stash; I have a couple wireless cameras or smaller cameras that could be put anywhere - even stream to a computer in another room with some free or trial DVR software. Think Web Cams, USB over Cat5 extenders, etc.

You're not gonna buy much for $20, but there's a good chance it can be pretty much free if you have a sufficient junk pile at home!
 
I do have an old wireless camera but no place to save data it would have to be all self contained, it will be just for fun, we already know who is doing it.

something with an x10 motion detector and a cheap digital camera would be awesome.
 
Firecracker would be good or exploding dye pack but anything like that these days is likely to get you in trouble or worse. I don't know of any really, really cheap cameras that would be easy to set up for this and as was said they could take the camera. If you can hide a video camera nearby that might work - like a nanny cam... How about just filling the locker with ping pong balls so they all spill out when he opens it? :) You might be better off with social engineering to find out what is going on. Lot's of cabinets have locks that are REAL easy to pick.
 
JimS said:
Firecracker would be good or exploding dye pack but anything like that these days is likely to get you in trouble or worse. I don't know of any really, really cheap cameras that would be easy to set up for this and as was said they could take the camera. If you can hide a video camera nearby that might work - like a nanny cam... How about just filling the locker with ping pong balls so they all spill out when he opens it? :) You might be better off with social engineering to find out what is going on. Lot's of cabinets have locks that are REAL easy to pick.
Click to expand...

Ya, he was taking a big screw driver and turning the whole lock enough to get the cabinet open, he thinks nobody knows how he is doing it.
We put a different lock that wont turn.
 
kccustom said:
Ya, he was taking a big screw driver and turning the whole lock enough to get the cabinet open, he thinks nobody knows how he is doing it.
We put a different lock that wont turn.
Click to expand...


I like the ping pong idea. He'll make such a mess he will quit messing with it, or better yet if you could find enough bouncy balls to put in there.
 
I could rig up a car horn or something with a hidden switch that he couldnt turn off, that would be funny

Or check this out, its twice my budget but it could be fun.
http://www.ep-surveillance.com/mini-cctv-surveillance-spy-car-keychain-security-hidden-camera-dvr.html
 
how about a cannon PS camera. and use the chdk firmware http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK along with a motion script or something...
 
I like the idea of a GE Screamer with a tamper switch hooked up :-D I could have loads of fun with that one - or even rigging up theirs back.

with a wireless camera, if you had a netbook or anything at all it could stream to, that's an option...

If you just want to buy something, here's a site with a bunch of spy cameras all the way down in the $20-$30 range.
http://www.lightinthebox.com/wholesale-Spy-Cameras_c811?sort=4a
 
Ping pong balls is a great idea, unless he decides that particular day to not open it and then when you go to open the joke is on you. That holds true for a number of the exploding devices.

A wireless IP camera (if you have wireless at work) would be the simplest way, but they cost a lot more money. Of course, once this job is done, you still have a wireless Ip camera for home.
 
I had to do something similar once. I used a zoneminder live cd, an old usb webcam, and a busted up laptop (any old clunker pc with a cd drive will do). It worked perfect and had motion detection to boot...
 
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