Go Go Gadget Privacy

The Spy Emporium has sold gadgets and gear in Montrose since 1990, but thanks to the help of whistleblowers like Edward Snowden, their demand has gone way up. Not only for their audio recorders and nanny cameras, but for Radio Frequency blockers and (surveillance) bug detectors.

Sidney May, who inherited the shop from his father, says that although people ask for protection from being hacked and spied on, there’s only so much you can do to keep the government (or anyone else) out of your business.

“They do come here for that. Although we don’t have any immediate solutions for them, we have a hacker on board now,” May said.

He described their contractor as the ethical type, AKA a white-hat hacker. And although he won’t be able to keep Uncle Sam out, he can help keep people off your wifi network. This is a hint at the Spy Emporium’s sister company, a private investigation firm by the name of TABOB Enterprises Group. The investigations firm works for insurance companies, schools, small businesses, bail bondsmen, attorneys and yes, the government. But they can also work for you, if you don’t wish to risk becoming a spy (or convicted felon).

But why not fight fire with fire? Given the time and money, the Spy Emporium could conceivably turn you into Batman, or at the very least, a poor man’s James Bond. The shop has the gadgets and literature to teach you electronic eavesdropping, digital forensics, asset location, domestic infidelity, tracking (and counter-measures), anti-pirating and basically every scheme and trope you’ve seen or read about, ever.

Now, if you’re really worried about being spied on, take a breather. Chances are your grocery store is more interested in what you’re up to than the government is.

Let’s zoom in to a local level. Picture a trip to your local supermarket. Closed circuit video cameras that monitor inside and outside. Video analytics like gaze trackers that notice things like your skin color and what brands you’re looking at. Retailer tracking programs in their computer systems that monitor your phone purchases, your debit card purchases and, if you have one, your in-store card. Return rewards based on statistical models that predict your behavior and ignore your privacy rights. Discriminatory pricing based on age, sex, or ethnicity using data about you purchased from Facebook.

And that’s just when you’re shopping for milk and cereal.

Granted it ’s unlikely that Fiesta Mart has the capability to go all Big Brother on you, but bet your bottom dollar that WalMart has their spytech on you like nobody’s business. And unfortunately, there’s not much at May’s shop to keep that from happening.

The government may have the National Security Agency working around the clock to see if you’ve visited a mosque lately or what kind of porn you like (in case they need to defame you later should you become an activist), but private corporations don’t even need to dig for your info—you give it to them. And they, in turn, sell it to Uncle Sam.

Now, that’s an extremely simplified explanation of an extremely complicated issue, but fact of the matter is you’re supplying them your data. If you want to get around that, delete your Facebook account (don’t worry Mark Zuckerberg will back it up for you), kill your smartphone, go find Richard Stallman and join the Free Software Movement.

Aside from that, get used to the government, the grocery store and the spouse spying on you.

Zoom in a bit more. Does your bae spend countless hours scrolling through your Facebook and Twitter posts? Do they go through your phone? Have they ever tailed you on girl’s (or guy’s) night out? Because, as May pointed out, it doesn’t take much to be a spy these days.

“The younger crowd tends to come in more,” May said. “But typically it’s the same crowd, 29 to 55 [year-olds]. People who are heavy into a relationship. A lover or spouse cheating.”

May also added that the Houston Police Department, as well as private investigators and occasionally, agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, will drop by to pick up tools and equipment. But 2014 is the year of Julian Assange over James Bond, and as such, suspecting your neighbor is just as important as suspecting your traffic cop.

“Everyone is aware of other people spying on them,” May said. “And that they can conduct surveillance. It’s readily available to the public. Not just for people trying to catch their spouses or nannies. Anyone can do it.”

Usual items picked up by spy enthusiasts are lock picking tools, wearable cameras and hidden audio recorders, which May says get ordered frequently online and in-store.

“Ever since Snowden whistleblowed about the NSA, people are a lot more paranoid too. We have a solution for that,” he said.

Solutions like the Spy Emporium’s bug detectors, which can run a couple of hundred dollars, or their metal-lined RFID-blocking wallets for debit cards and passports.

For those with a more “hands-on” approach towards security, May sells stun guns, tazers and other self-defense items. He also hinted at something that has been in demand (and development) among the tech-savvy for quite some time.

“We’re about to carry encrypted cell phones. It’s going to be very big in 2015 and the coming years,” May said. “Not only to keep your phone from being hacked, but to discourage surveillance.”

And that’s the keyword: discourage. Love or hate spying, it’s become a normal part of life and trying to “get rid of it” is futile. Gaining some surveillance skills is probably the best way to avoid being surveilled. So not to be cliché, but if you can’t beat them, spy on them.