FLORHAM PARK, New Jersey (WABC) -- The thieves spent days staking out one New Jersey neighborhood, watching who comes and goes - and when. Then, they would flip on a bizarre-looking device and knock out a home's wireless alarm system before breaking in to steal money and jewelry.
It happened just this week to a resident in Florham Park.
"He was in his house, and the suspect came up and forced his way into the resident's home," said NJ Police Lieutenant Brian Ford.
Lt. Ford says the victim tried to call 911, but his cellphone had no signal.
"He was also unable to use his phone to call for help, which resorted to him running out of his house and getting a passerby, fortunately to call for him," Ford added.
The thief was scared off and the resident was not injured, but it's a growing crime nationwide. The device, known as a 'WiFi jammer' sends a powerful pulse that temporarily disables wireless devices.
"Yeah it also disrupts cell signals - anything that uses wireless communications it'll disrupt 100 percent," said Ford.
Earlier this year, the LAPD warned residents in Southern California.
"It's pretty sophisticated. They have spotter vehicles ahead of time that kind of watch the area. People that watch the house, people that are waiting on a neighboring block or a few houses down - the getaway car," adds Ford.
Roni Parlin has lived in Florham Park for more than 40 years.
"If they are disabling our equipment in the house, our WiFi that enables us to be able to call 911, where does that leave us? It's really, really scary," Parlin says.
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A mobile phone jammer or blocker is a device which deliberately transmits signals on the same radio frequencies as mobile phones, disrupting the communication between the phone and the cell-phone base station, effectively disabling mobile phones within the range of the jammer, preventing them from receiving signals and ...
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Mobile_phone_jammer
' sends a powerful pulse that temporarily disables wireless devices. "Yeah it also disrupts cell signals - anything that uses wireless communications it'll disrupt 100 percent," said Ford. Earlier this year, the LAPD warned residents in Southern California. "It's pretty sophisticated.
In an era where technology is meant to make our lives safer, tech-savvy burglars are finding new ways to exploit vulnerabilities in home security systems. That highlights a concerning new trend: burglars disabling Wi-Fi signals in homes, rendering security systems useless.
Thieves are using Wi-Fi jammers to break into people's homes, California cops warn. A group of thieves have been outsmarting smart devices across the Los Angeles area, authorities said.
Brute-force hacking your Wi-Fi password: Hackers can try hundreds of different password combinations to gain access to your password-protected router's internal settings. If your Wi-Fi password is cracked, hackers can change the password and lock you out of your home Wi-Fi.
Burglars hate attention. That's the main reason why burglar alarms and sirens are effective on deterring thieves. Statistics show that 46% of burglars would tend to avoid homes with alarm systems or sirens.
Without highly advanced, military-level technology at hand, it is virtually impossible for the average consumer to definitively detect a cell phone jammer. However, if you suspect illegal activity of this sort, contact law enforcement or file a complaint with the FCC.
Metal: Heavy or dense metal is the most difficult material to penetrate. Metal also has the unique ability to absorb and disrupt the signal. Larger objects made of metal, including doors, walls, and beams, can block WiFi signal significantly.
The use of a phone jammer, GPS blocker, or other signal jamming device designed to intentionally block, jam, or interfere with authorized radio communications is a violation of federal law. There are no exemptions for use within a business, classroom, residence, or vehicle.
The gang places cellular and Wi-Fi jammers around the homes they're targeting. This way, security cameras and phones are useless. A Phoenix police officer told me the gang probably noticed nothing was down in our house. Our home's security cameras and internet are hard-wired.
Wi-Fi jamming is a technique used by criminals to disrupt or block wireless signals, preventing communication between devices connected to a Wi-Fi network.
Wi-Fi jamming devices don't necessarily deactivate devices, but work by overloading the network the devices are connected to. “These (jamming) devices create traffic jams for the radio transmitter so that real traffic cannot get through,” cybersecurity expert Mark Lanterman told the outlet.
By using a technique called DNS (Domain Name Server) hijacking, hackers can breach the security of your home Wi‑Fi and potentially cause you a great deal of harm. They can redirect your traffic to a website run by them, causing you to unwittingly give your credit card number or Facebook login credentials to a criminal.
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