A woman’s creepy claims that she uncovered 10 hidden cameras in a Philadelphia Airbnb went viral and sparked a police investigation – but no cameras were found inside the property, the company said Tuesday.
Twitter user @foxytaughtyou said in a series of viral posts that she and a friend found cameras in the bathroom and bedroom, with some “disguised” as fire-suppression sprinklers.
“We noticed these ‘sprinklers’ CAMERAS were placed in spots to get a perfect view of people,” the user wrote in a post on Saturday that has been retweeted 67,300 times. “Luckily it was a girls trip so I wasn’t having intercourse… but I was naked and had to change in this room.”
But an Airbnb spokesman said the company was informed by the lead Philadelphia police detective that the property was searched and the case was being closed.
“He confirmed that he did not find any hidden or undisclosed cameras and that the fire sprinklers had regular sprinklerheads,” the spokesperson told The Post. The company is refunding the guest anyway, the spokesperson added.
The woman had said in the posts that she and a friend booked the room that was listed under a business name and never met or spoke with the owner. After a night out, the pair came back and slept on the couch, then woke up the next morning and saw one of the alleged cameras above them, she said in the video.
“It was very creepy we were absolutely freaked out when we saw this,” she says in the video. “It seems like they tried to hide it but I don’t know that just looks weird it’s just a hole in the ceiling with a camera. So I don’t know how anyone in the past didn’t notice this camera but we did.”
But some Twitter users were immediately skeptical, with several saying the image of the alleged hidden camera only showed a regular sprinkler head.
“I’m a sprinkler fitter. All sprinkler heads look like that lol,” one user wrote.
Earlier Tuesday, an Airbnb spokesperson told The Post the company was “providing support” to the guest, including a full refund.
“Our policies strictly prohibit hidden cameras and we take forceful action in the exceptionally rare circumstances where this has been reported, including assisting law enforcement to help them hold criminals accountable,” the spokesperson said. “In this case, our Safety team has suspended this Host and removed this listing from our platform while we thoroughly investigate this report.”
A spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department had told The Post that the Special Victims Unit was aware of the alleged incident and investigating but had no further comment.
Amid the backlash, @foxytaught you said she was waiting for “answers.”
“I’m getting hate messages because I was scared?” she wrote. “Can’t wait to get a letter or something from air bnb so I can post if they were [cameras] or not & delete all this bs off my page lol.”
