The alleged British ‘spy rock’ found by Russian security services recently is only one of an increasingly sophisticated arsenal of surveillance devices available to today’s secret agents. Modern espionage is far more likely to involve digital eavesdropping and computer hacking than sipping Martinis with glamorous Bond girls in a Monte Carlo casino. And although the very latest gadgets remain strictly top secret, it’s never been easier to set up your very own ‘black ops’ with a variety of high tech devices. Note that while buying some of these gizmos is fairly easy, using them covertly will probably break a number of laws.
BTT-800 Universal Telephone Lead Transmitter £225
www.spy-equipment.co.uk
Want to find out what your boss saying about you? Creep into his office and replace
his phone handset cable with this sneaky look-alike. It will broadcast up 6 hours
of phone chatter on a special frequency so you can find out if you’re in
line for a promotion – or the boot.
CheckMate Infidelity Test Kit £75
http://megaspy.net
If Hilary had used one of these kits, Bill might still be President. Simply apply
to any suspicious clothing stains to reveal whether your other half has been up
to no good. Guaranteed cheaper than a Senate Inquiry.
Executive Lie Detector £23.95
www.paramountzone.com
Suspect someone near you of telling pork pies? There’s no need to get the
CIA to fly them to a distant country with relaxed laws on interrogation, just
get them talking to this pocket-sized truth detector. It uses voice stress analysis
to give an LED readout of their honesty – from green for innocent up to
red for compulsive liars.
UMB-400 Umbrella £200
www.spy-equipment.co.uk
Accidentally ‘forget’ this umbrella at the in-laws and discover whether
they really liked their Christmas present, via a powerful radio transmitter hidden
in the handle. Also useful for duelling with enemy agents on the top of a train,
or for protecting you from a light drizzle.
Hidden Camera Detector £195
http://megaspy.net
If Q had issued our lads in Moscow with one of these, their alleged spy rock would
probably be still be safe and sound. Simply peer through a little hole and any
hidden video cameras show up like a torch. As seen on TV forensic show CSI.
Personal Tracking System £715
www.spy-equipment.co.uk
There can’t be anyone who hasn’t occasionally wanted to slap a tiny
metal box underneath a car and track its progress on a handheld widget, preferably
one that beeps. This compact GPS satellite transmitter that lets you pinpoint
your target’s location to within a couple of metres, anywhere in Europe.
As long as they’re not indoors, that is.
Fellowes DS-1 Shredder £80
www.argos.co.uk
Deter dumpster-diving low-lifes after your correspondance with this steel-bladed
cross-cut shredder. It can handle 11 sheets of paper at a time, will munch happily
through staples and credit cards, and has unique Safe Sense technology that shuts
itself down people or pets stray too close to the blades.