WiFi Jammers Deployed by Teenage Thieves to Neutralise CCTV During Melbourne Home Raid
A family in Berwick, east Melbourne, was left traumatised after teenage burglars used a WiFi jammer to disable their CCTV security system during a brazen home invasion, allowing the theft of two vehicles while the household slept.
Security System Failure During Night-Time Break-In
Jun Bastoni, his wife, and their three young daughters were asleep on the second floor of their home when two teenagers broke in at 3am and again at 5am on Sunday. Typically, Mr Bastoni would receive a smartphone alert from his CCTV cameras detecting unusual motion, but the intruders' use of a WiFi jammer rendered almost all cameras on the street useless.
The interruption meant Mr Bastoni only discovered his Mercedes A45 AMG and Toyota RAV4 were stolen when he found his garage open later that morning. 'I immediately checked my camera equipment - I'm a cameraman so there's some expensive stuff - and it was only when I turned around that I realised my wife's car was gone,' he told Daily Mail.
'I went to check our cameras and they were all offline. My neighbour's cameras were also offline. There was only one camera down the street that got a glimpse of the getaway car because it's wired to a hard drive.'
Family Left Rattled by Invasion Footage
Mr Bastoni and his family were deeply shaken after viewing neighbour's CCTV footage, which captured one member of the group stealing the RAV4. 'I could see the whole event unfolding,' Mr Bastoni said. 'They came in and spent five minutes in the house. We were all asleep upstairs, my three daughters were asleep upstairs, and I didn't hear any of it.'
The children, aged eight, nine, and eleven, have been particularly frightened. 'I've been trying to make light of it for the kids,' Mr Bastoni explained. 'But I've been sleeping downstairs the last couple nights with a baseball bat and hockey sticks. The kids are all sleeping with my wife in our room, on mattresses on the floor.'
Sophisticated Targeting and Recovery Efforts
Mr Bastoni believes his Mercedes was specifically targeted after he drove it to pick up pizzas on Saturday night. 'We live out of the way and the CCTV shows they knew exactly where they were going,' he said. 'They go around carparks looking for nice cars, stick trackers on them and then go get them later. My stolen RAV4 was seen circling a carpark near my house on Monday night - a group of four African teenagers, just like who broke into my house.'
While this method sounds advanced, Mr Bastoni learned that such technology is becoming commonplace among criminals. After sharing a video detailing the theft, which gained over 300,000 views, he was informed that WiFi jammers and trackers are purchased cheaply online, despite being illegal in Australia.
'Anyone can buy this stuff on Temu and AliExpress, it's very easily accessible,' he noted. 'Australia would be thousands of packages from China every day - they're not going to catch every illegal order.'
Partial Recovery and Ongoing Concerns
An anonymous tip led to the recovery of Mr Bastoni's Mercedes outside Richmond Police Station on Tuesday, with speculation that the thieves returned it due to the video's widespread attention. However, the RAV4 remains missing and is not expected to be found.
This incident underscores a disturbing trend where criminals exploit readily available technology to bypass security measures, leaving homeowners vulnerable and authorities grappling with enforcement challenges in the digital age.
