Awesome - Mom Hears Daughter Talking To Security Camera, Then Uncovers The Dark Reality
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We'll install any number of gizmos and gadgets inside our homes to keep our families safe. It's what helps us sleep at night. But these technologies can have dark consequences as one mother of four discovered. At first, she was amused when she heard her young daughter talking to her bedroom camera; but after she figured out why... the family wouldn't sleep soundly again.
The LeMay family, which includes mother Ashley LeMay, her longtime husband, and the four young daughters they share, live out a happy existence in the town of Nesbit, Mississippi.
Generally, the family was a joyous one. They took pleasure in playing dress-up, rocking team sports, and spending time outside. However, there was one issue that gave the LeMay's cause for concern.
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One of the LeMay daughters, only four years old, had a complex medical history. One of her ailments included a propensity for occasional seizures, a condition that was unfortunate but ultimately not life-threatening.
However, needless to say, children — especially ones who can require extra care — need proper supervision. Mother Ashley worked nights as a medical researcher and as such needed a solution to help keep her daughter safe and happy.
When LeMay encountered discounted Ring security systems at a Black Friday sale, she thought she'd hit the jackpot. She purchased the seemingly nifty device and brought it home, hoping it would be an aide to her and her family.
However, just days after installing the cameras, what at first appeared as a blessing would quickly spiral into one of the worst nightmares a parent could have. The family never could have predicted it.
The terrifying situation all began to unfold on December 4th, when 8 year-old Alyssa LeMay heard strange sounds and unsettling music emanating from the bedroom she and her sisters shared.
The confused third-grader wandered inside and suddenly she heard something that shocked her young ears. A strange voice had begun to speak to her. "Hello there," an unseen man said.
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Alyssa was taken completely off guard. She'd never heard anything like it before, and didn't know where it was coming from. She began to pace her room, picking up toys to see if they could be the culprits behind the disembodied voice.
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Then, suddenly, the stranger began to shout racial slurs at the child, continuing maniacally until finally, filled with terror, Alyssa couldn't take it anymore. She then screamed, "What? I can't hear you!"
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As if things couldn't get any creepier, the voice coming from the Ring camera began playing the song "Tip Toe Through The Tulips," a tune that, due to its eerie nature, has been featured in many a horror movie.
The hacker then encouraged the young girl to call her mother a racial slur, and demanded her to repeat it back to him. "Come on, girl, say it with me," he coaxed.
In a state of panic, Alyssa cried out "Mom? Who is that?" The hostile stranger replied, "I'm your best friend. You can do whatever you want right now. You can mess up your room; you can break your TV. You can do whatever you want."
"Who is that?" Alyssa repeated, growing increasingly distressed. "I'm your best friend, Santa Claus," was the answer that came from the Ring device. Finally, her instincts taking hold, Alyssa stated "I don't know who you are" and exited the bedroom.
While all this was happening, it took a second for the adult LeMays to catch on. Ashley had been just down the block from their suburban home when she received a strange call from her husband.
When the young mother picked up, her spouse asked her if she had been playing a joke on the girls, speaking with them through the Ring camera installed in their room. Totally confused, Ashley checked the Ring app on her phone.
"I started watching the video on my phone and when I heard his voice and realized it was not my husband's voice my heart just dropped and I ran back to the house," Ashley remarked, recalling the horrific memory.
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The family called Ring that very night, as they certainly had many questions for the home security service. Anxiously, they awaited some sort of response that might be able to assuage their fears.
"I don't feel it was a coincidence that I have four girls and they were trying to gain their trust, telling her she could do whatever she wanted," Ashley said, guessing as to what the cruel hacker's intentions may have been.
Eventually they uninstalled the cameras, but the family still didn't know how long the stranger had been watching the girls, who and where he was, and if he had access to previous footage taken inside the house.
For days they waited for a response — any response — from Ring, until finally on December 6th they received a single email confirming that the company had detected "unusual activity" on the LeMays' account.
"I'm shocked at Ring's response," Ashley relayed. "I thought I would have 16 voicemails from them when I got home because it's become such a big deal and it was such a creepy video. I was frustrated they hadn't given me an update."
Finally, after another three long harrowing days, still completely in the dark about what had happened, the family got a Ring employee on the phone. Unfortunately, the company's response left much to be desired.
Rather than profusely apologizing, or attempting to comfort the shaken family, this employee did quite the opposite. He questioned Ashley about her passwords and asked why she didn't have two-factor authentication employed.
“To be honest, it felt like they were trying to place the blame on me. As a mother, I already feel guilty enough that I let this happen to my family...There’s just no need for that," Ashley told The Washington Post.
Ring did provide an official statement, reading "Recently, we were made aware of an incident where malicious actors obtained some Ring users’ account credentials (e.g., username and password) from a separate, external, non-Ring service and reused them to log in to some Ring accounts."
The spokesperson continued to emphasize the role that customers need to play in protecting their information, saying, "Unfortunately, when the same username and password is reused on multiple services, it’s possible for bad actors to gain access to many accounts."
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Ring has assured the public, including affected families such as the LeMays, that they've addressed the issues, blocking such "bad actors." "Customer trust is important to us and we take the security of our devices seriously," the company added.
However, for many people who have had their privacy invaded — including the LeMay family — this response is simply not enough. There have been lasting consequences from the disturbing events that occurred in December.
The family's four daughters are still afraid, often refusing to sleep in their own rooms and having flashbacks to the event. At times it is hard for them to remember that the cameras are no longer there.
The LeMays regretted ever buying the Ring cameras and wished they'd just opted for baby monitors in the beginning. Of course, they knew even those weren't flawless.
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