Interwatch Security are a relatively new company that offer a security surveillance solution for home owners, small businesses and those with a holiday home in Cyprus. For a small monthly fee, they install an IP camera, store the footage recorded by the camera and alerting by SMS or email you if the motion sensor is triggered.

The service gives you live access to your camera whenever you need it, remote support if the camera fails for any reason, archiving of all recorded video footage which you can then retrieve at a later date, the ability to export data as evidence if required, technical support and a variety of packages too. The service is very comprehensive, and it essentially gives you all the benefits of remote camera surveillance for a reasonable cost.

The most alluring feature of the service is that the Interwatch handle all of the technical side of the installation, maintenance and monitoring of your cameras. Therefore all you need to do is chat to them about your requirements and pay them a fee. Not all of us are technically minded, but really do want video surveillance of our property and businesses if we spend a lot of time away from them.

The service exploits IP cameras, and if you are technically minded, look into the Axis range of cameras, as they have a reputation of being one of the best brands for features and quality. Axis cameras are not cheap, but you do get what you pay for.

1) Look for it on eBay. The prices for most equipment is very cheap compared with spy shops. Try searching for lots of keywords such as spy cameras, spy bug, spy transmitter, uhf bug, vhf transmitter, video transmitter, listening device, etc. Make sure you compare prices to other spy shops you know too, just to make sure you are getting good value for money.

2) Hack your own spy devices! You don’t need much electronics knowledge to get started, but the more you know, the more you can build. Books such as 101 Spy Gadgets for the Evil Genius are a great start for giving you ideas on what you can make yourself. e.g. converting a walkie talkie into a room bug is an example. And don’t worry, you can learn a great deal about electronics by just playing around!

3) Build up surveillance kits. On a similar note to above, you can also build equipment from kits. Kits are typically priced very cheaply, easy to obtain, and teach you a few things too. It also saves the hard work locating all of the electronic components yourself. It’s a really good idea to consider Learning How To Solder too, since it’s such a valuable skill.

4) Compare prices. You might think this is really obvious, but still, do you do it? My suggestion is to compile a list of spy websites in your region, then compare prices when you’re looking for a specific bit of kit. Don’t forget, it might also be cheaper to make it yourself.

5) Check bargain bins. Checking the bargain bin sections of Radio Shack, or Maplin, or even in electrical retailers in the high street. Also check for sale offers, discounts, etc. If you don’t find exactly what you want, option 2 and 3 might be useful to get the desired equipment. I know that Maplin currently has some fantastic offers for surveillance cameras at the moment, with a £30 ($60) saving on a covert camera I like the look of!