For Dallas resident Vince Hunter, the $4.99 he paid for his iCam iPhone app proved to be more than worth it when he was notified about motion sensors going off in his house and then watched in real-time as burglars broke through his windows.
While vacationing in Connecticut, Hunter received a text message on his iPhone. It was an automated message from an app called iCam, alerting him that motion sensors had been activated from his home security system.
He then launched the app, which enables users to watch their security camera footage live.
“I check the footage, and see in real time guys in this area, and they’re kind of hunched over. They’d just broken the glass. I said holy cow, I gotta call 911,” said Hunter in an ABC News interview.
As he continued to watch, aghast at the real-life crime unfolding in front of his eyes, he saw the burglars throw a brick through his living room window, and then run away as security alarms began to sound. Police arrived on the scene later, which Hunter also watched on his phone.
It’s pretty good publicity for iCam. Hunter commended the app, saying, “You know, it was surreal. It really was. The first thing I couldn’t believe is that we could do this on our cell phone. Really? A cell phone?”
The burglars are assumed to be the same ones who robbed a nearby house just minutes before Hunter called police. That victim was able to record details of the getaway car. Combined with Hunter’s captured footage, they will hopefully be caught.
Hunter lives in a crime-riddled neighborhood so he invested in a high-tech security system. Apps like iCam sound really cool in theory, but it’s fascinating to hear a story of it actually working so perfectly.
With things like iCam and OnStar, it’s becoming tougher and tougher to be a criminal these days.
