VideoSecu Fake Dummy Security Camera CCTV Home Surveillance IR Infrared Fake Bullet Camera with Flashing Light 1RE

I've put these around my house, with a cut piece of coax cable glued to each fake security camera, and then doing a loop before being glued into a chapstick cap screwed into the side of the house (looking like a safety extension of wiring, and then wiring entering my house inside a tube through the outer wall. I ordered 10 cameras, and numbered their bellies to suggest there are 16 cameras (the numbers also cover where the brand and some other info is usually visible on real cameras).. With so many styles of real security cameras which look a lot like this, it should be a rare thief who is confident enough to break in anyway (I'd wish him luck finding my recorders or downloaders before the police arrive, if that was his plan). The back end of these fake camers have good adjustment joints, so you can set them pointed exactly where you want (get a 3 - 6 foot piece of dowel or rigid plastic to put against the fake cameras while setting the angle, and you will much easier see exactly where each is aimed). They come with mounting screws, and drywall anchors (for if anyone mounts these indoors). They also come with warning stickers, which I thought looked less real, so I never used them.It's hard to guess what percentage of thieves look around for security cameras before breaking in, but I'm hoping enough of my fake cameras are obvious enough to discourage every thief who considers my house. Sadly, the real cameras are not only MUCH more expensive, but the household use ones have VERY low picture quality. So it was impossible for me to consider paying the higher price plus electricity for a set of real cameras. Knock on wood, so far so good. The black color sticks out against my white house trim, and having the cameras hanging down from roof eaves while pointed across each other should prevent a thief from getting close enough to maybe figure out these aren't real. Luckily, each thief has hundreds of choices for which house to break into. Anything I can do to make my house look like a bad choice should lessen the danger of having a thief actually break in and haul off my valuables (while creating a mess I'm sure). BTW, I found an auction site where sellers had authentic ADT security company stickers for around the house. I put those up on the exterior doors and most exterior windows. Hopefully they will enhance the fake security cameras, and even further discourage thieves.

This fake camera looks real unless you get up close. To increase realism, I tucked a bright cable (an old Ethernet cable) into the back and tucked it out of view on the roof. It makes it look like it is hardwired to something.One morning in December, I found that half of the christmas lights I had strung around a shrub were unstrung. The lights were unplugged, and clearly someone had started to unravel the set. They abandoned the christmas light theft in the middle of the criminal act. My assumption is that the thieves noticed the blinking light of this fake security camera staring right at them and ran off. So, this sub-ten dollar investment saved me from the loss of a ten dollar string of christmas lights. Not counting the unknown number of breakins it has stopped since then, I am satisfied that it has already paid for itself.

Having experienced a break-in, this is the main question. The camera seems "real" enough. Also, as an added deterrent, I put the "beware of camera surveillance" self-adhesive 2"x3" decal (one included with each camera) at the front and back house windows where I installed my 2 cameras underneath the house eaves. I believe the cameras will be more effective, and plan to supplement these decals, with larger yard signs warning of surveillance that are available on Amazon. Time may tell, but judging the cameras' effectiveness will at best be an inexact science.Note that the round screw knob (visible above the camera) which you turn and tighten to adjust the position of the camera (angle) is flimsy plastic that doesn't hold too well, and I was afraid to tighten it too much against the ball joint lest it break or become unusable (i.e. the plastic thread is stripped). Also, if you have insufficient clearance or lack an adequate supporting surface between the top or side of the eave and where/how you want to screw the base of the camera and "hang" it, you may have to (like me) install the camera upside down (which may detract from its "authenticity"). What is shown in the product picture is the "ideal" installation position, which of course will not always be the situation you will face. You will also need to consider placing it high enough or in a place where it is "tamper-proof" or "tamper-resistant".As mentioned in other reviews, there is just a cut off wire coming out of the back of the camera that you have to do "something" with to prevent it from just dangling in space, so I just drilled a small hole in the plastic base, inserted the wire through the front and knotted it from the back underneath the base where it is not visible. It looks OK.If this camera came with a blinking red light, like found on some of the other fake cameras (available and reviewed on Amazon) that I considered, it would be a real hassle trying to periodically replace the batteries, especially from the positions mine are in. A blinking red light may make a camera more visible at night (for the deterrent benefit of crooks) but you would need to weigh that against how often you'd like to (remember to) get up on a ladder to change the batteries (this light will also be blinking during the day, when it is less or hardly visible and draining the battery).Overall, for those, including me, who are unwilling or unable to go with a real home security system, I give this camera 4 stars for looking "real", its price, and relative ease of installation. Minus one star for the issues I raised above.Nov. 2012 - adding a follow-up comment. The "beware of camera surveillance" self-adhesive 2"x3" decal (one included with each camera) I put at the front and back house windows where I installed my 2 cameras underneath the house eaves started to fade in only about 2 months and are now totally faded, illegible and therefore useless. Don't bother sticking these to any window, as it doesn't matter whether the stickers are in direct sunlight or not, they will fade, and you will wind up having to take/scrape them off.