Can cameras make you more vulnerable?

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Big Brother has evolved into a common fixture of modern day life.

But, do some hidden cameras peer to closely?

These days there's a camera for just about everything.

They're outside homes, inside businesses, keeping an eye on the kid's room. But could these same cameras make you more vulnerable?

As shocking as it appears, News 4 was able to lock onto video signals coming from wireless security cameras by just driving down the street.

News 4 even saw ourselves on a busy Buffalo street.

News 4 did it using an $80 wireless receiver bought on the internet.

A simple unit that you buy online, or you can go into an electronics store, can offer you a look inside a business or perhaps somebody's home.

How easily can it be done? News 4 picked up a video signal on Hertel Avenue and pinpointed it to a wine store, just by driving down the street.

News 4 was on the outside, and had an inside view of the business.

News 4 went back to show the owner what we were seeing from his own security camera.

"I was surprised. I didn't think it had that long of range," said owner of Chateau Buffalo, Carl Schmitter.

Schmitter was surprised that security images of his store could be picked up on the street.

"It never really concerned me until now that you exposed what could be going on," he said.

That's right, cameras designed to provide a level of security and privacy are having the opposite effect.

Instead, we have the inside view.

"They're actually broadcasting their video image to the neighborhood," said Tim Creenan, Owner of Amherst Alarm.

Creenan says a professionally installed wireless camera system is going to have password encryption.

That way it can't be received unless you know the code.

The good ones will cost you a little more money. But in the long run, it's worth it.

"It might be in the $400 to $500 range for the camera. Then there's a receiving piece of equipment that's probably about $150," said Creenan.

Here's another example, this time a business in the Town of Tonawanda.

Just driving down the street, the wireless camera signal pops up, and we have a direct view inside the store. Even a shot of News 4's Luke Moretti walking in the front door.

News 4 said, "We can see if anybody's in the store."

An Amherst Police Detective Sergeant Michael Torrillo said, " Sure."

News 4 said, "If he has any customers."

"Sure," the Torrillo.

News 4 showed the video to Torrillo.

"You want to make sure that people can't observe the whole layout from the convenience of their car," said Torrillo.

When News 4 showed a store representative the clear picture News 4 was receiving, he couldn't believe it.

"That picture is better than the one we get inside the store," the store worker said.

Security experts say this should be a wake-up call for anyone who's using wireless technology.

"We need to be concerned about where these wireless signals are going and what security measures we have to put in place to protect ourselves," said Chief Scott Patronik, of the Erie County Sheriff's Office.