A police investigation has revealed the truth behind a viral TikTok video, which claimed to expose a number of “hidden cameras” in a Philadelphia home.
Airbnb has become one of the most popular hotel alternatives travelers use when in a new city. Instead of paying a lot of money for hotels, Airbnb lets property owners rent out their homes.
While the service has been a major hit, there has been the occasional horror story with guests sometimes making some grave discoveries after checking in.
On June 12, an Airbnb guest documented her own traumatic experience at a house in Philadelphia. Her story has gone viral on Twitter and has since been investigated by a local detective, as part of an investigation.
BE CAUTIOUS BOOKING AIR BNBs! My friend & I recently stayed at a air bnb in Philadelphia with over 10 hidden cameras all over the house. Including the showers and bedrooms. Some were disguised as sprinkler systems but it has a camera lens. pic.twitter.com/nimx4L6koC
— 🍒 (@foxytaughtyou) June 12, 2022
Airbnb guests says she found hidden cameras in shower
According to Twitter user ‘foxytaughtyou,’ the home she checked into in Philadelphia had over ten cameras in the showers and bedrooms, with some even disguised as sprinkler systems.
Photos of the cameras went viral on social media, amassing over 3,000 retweets and 100,000 “likes.”
“We noticed these ‘sprinkler’ CAMERAS were placed in spots to get a perfect view of people,” she revealed in a video. “Luckily it was a girls’ trip so I wasn’t having intercourse… but I was naked and had to change in this room.”
The air bnb was listed under a business name & we never met the owner. Everytime we tried calling them, even at our arrival they’ll never answer the phone. They only respond through message so we do not know how they look, sound or if it’s a male or female.
— 🍒 (@foxytaughtyou) June 12, 2022
Foxy later said that she ended up going to a Philadelphia police station to report the owner and ended up switching houses after altering Airbnb of their discovery.
“We reported this to them and to the police station Friday noon and still have not had an update on this case. We have no idea what footage this owner has and what he is doing with it,” she explained.
How we discovered hidden cameras in our air bnb…
WE WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS BEING DONE WITH OUR FOOTAGE! I NEED ANSWERS! NO UPDATE FROM AIR BNB OR POLICE STATION!!! pic.twitter.com/X3GKuHuVL6
— 🍒 (@foxytaughtyou) June 13, 2022
This sparked a police investigation and an Airbnb spokesperson confirmed that the host has been suspended while the matter is looked into.
“Our policies strictly prohibit hidden cameras and we take forceful action in the exceptionally rare circumstances where this has been reported, including assisting law enforcement to help them hold criminals accountable,” they said. “In this case, our Safety team has suspended this Host and removed this listing from our platform while we thoroughly investigate this report.”
Airbnb responds as police investigation closes
On June 14, the findings of the detective were sent to Dexerto.
A spokesperson for Airbnb told us: “We thoroughly looked into this allegation as we do for all safety reports. Today, we spoke directly with the lead detective from the Philadelphia Police Department who responded to the complaint and investigated the property.
“He confirmed that he did not find any hidden or undisclosed cameras and that the fire sprinklers had regular sprinklerheads. The detective also confirmed that they plan to close this case.”
The guest was issued a full refund.
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