Some websites and homeware shops sell fake surveillance cameras to put outside your home or business. They aren’t connected to any security system. They’re essentially a lump of plastic, yet people buy them hoping they’ll scare off burglars.
That may have made sense years ago, when the average homeowner couldn’t afford a proper CCTV system. Today it’s far more effective to invest in the real thing. Here’s why a fake camera isn’t worth your time.
Pros can tell it’s a fake
Criminals are adaptable, and they do their research to avoid getting caught. With more and more properties fitted with CCTV, they’re always looking out for cameras and understand how security systems work. Many will take the time to pick out properties where the cameras clearly aren’t real.
Tell-tale signs of a dummy camera
- No cables running to it, or a cable that goes nowhere
- A blinking red light, which real cameras rarely have
- Lightweight, cheap-looking plastic housing
- Positioned somewhere a real installer wouldn’t put it
They are useless
A dummy camera can’t record anything. If someone does break in, there’s no footage to identify them, nothing to give the police, and no evidence to support an insurance claim.
A fake camera only works until someone calls its bluff. After that, it’s just a piece of plastic on the wall.
Worse, it can give you a false sense of security. You may skip other precautions because you believe the property is covered, when in reality nothing is watching.
A waste of time and money
Every pound spent on a fake camera is a pound not spent on protection that works. And because a dummy offers no real deterrent to an experienced burglar, it may need replacing with a proper system anyway.
The real alternative
Modern CCTV is more affordable than many people expect. A professionally installed system records everything, lets you check in from your phone, and gives you footage you can actually use if the worst happens. If you’re weighing up a dummy camera, talk to us first. A free survey costs you nothing.
