KILLEEN, Texas — A Killeen family is on edge after a man hacked into a Ring camera inside their 5-year-old son's room in the middle of the night.
Ausharee McLeod says the purpose of the camera in the room was to know when her son wakes up and when he goes to sleep.
McLeod was still awake when she got a notification from Ring. The notification detected motion from her son. She logged on and says her son had a concerned look on his face.
"He was sitting, facing the camera as if he was communicating back with the camera," McLeod said.
McLeod unmuted it and heard an unsettling sound, a man's voice whispering to her son.
"Hey!" the man said through the camera.
Seconds later, the 5-year-old started screaming.
"He said 'Daddy, daddy,'" McLeod told 6 News. "I rolled over. I looked at my husband, and I asked him if he was on the camera talking to him. He said he was asleep."
McLeod's son ran away terrified of the unfamiliar voice that woke him up.
"You can see the fear in his eyes," McLeod said. "He knew something wasn't right."
The family searched the house in panic afterwards because they thought someone was inside their home.
"My son, this is his safe haven," McLeod said. "Mommy and daddy are supposed to protect him. We don't know if this person has patched in before or what."
Within minutes, the video was deleted.
"It was like it never even happened," McLeod added. "Thank God I saved the video."
McLeod says she filed a report with the police department.
"They did say that sometimes people that hack into your Wi-Fi are near you," McLeod said. "So that's the scary part as well is knowing that this person is likely close to us."
The family hopes others can stay alert.
"If your child comes to you and says that someone's talking to them through the camera, listen to them," McLeod said. "They're not just joking around. They're not just saying it to be saying it."
Law enforcement tells 6 News families can protect themselves doing the following:
1. Updating devices
2. Ensuring the use of end-to-end encryption
3. Using unique passwords
4. Changing passwords frequently
5. Do not connect to devices through public Wi-Fi
The McLeods also encourage people to make sure systems are wired in, not wireless because your router can be hacked at any moment.
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