Mom left terrified after hearing stranger speak to her son via WiFi baby monitor: ‘So vulnerable’

A device meant to ease parent’s minds is giving them more to worry about.

A panicked mother took to Reddit to share her bone-chilling encounter with an unauthorized user who gained access to their baby monitor and used it to speak to their newborn.

The anonymous Redditor claimed she was gifted a “cheap” YiHome WiFi enabled camera from Amazon that detects movement, allows parents to hear and talk through the device, and features time stamps on recordings.

The “only issue,” she noted, was that it wasn’t Bluetooth enabled, meaning it needed to be connected to WiFi and used through the corresponding smartphone app.

The mom placed the camera over the baby’s crib and, mere days ago, set her son down to sleep when she went to use the restroom.

“Of course he was crying a little bit, so I open the app and turn on the audio just to keep an eye on him,” she explained. “As soon as I turned on the audio I hear a woman’s voice go ‘hello?’”

She recalled being “weirded out” by the phantom voice and asked her husband if the camera or anything in their child’s room talks or makes noise, to which he said no.

“So I go back upstairs, and as I’m opening the door to my son’s room I hear the same woman talking to my son through the camera,” the mom continued. “She said, ‘Hi baby! It’s ok!’ I immediately yanked the camera out of the wall, and haven’t used it since.”

But that wasn’t the first time the mystery woman had spoken to the Redditor’s son. Apparently, she had access to the monitor for “at least 4 days.”

According to the mom, her sister, who lives with the couple, heard a woman’s voice coming from the child’s room, but chalked it up to the television — but the TV had not been installed yet.

“So I guess what I’m saying is get a Bluetooth camera. WiFi ones are so vulnerable, and anyone could get access so easily,” the mom warned.

“The woman more than likely gained access through the app you have to use with the camera.”

Readers called the encounter “creepy,” “scary” and downright “nefarious,” inquiring what strangers “gain” from talking to other people’s babies.

But this Redditor’s experience was not an isolated incident — and, as it turns out, baby monitors are scarily easy to hack. Over the years, shaken parents have shared stories of infiltrated cameras and ominous voices speaking to their little ones.

According to Allen St. John, Consumer Reports’ content manager for baby monitors, many WiFi enabled baby monitors “have pretty lax security and privacy,” he told Parents.

While smartphone-connected baby monitors are easier for parents to use, Titania Jordan, the CMO and chief parent officer at Bark Technologies, warned of their vulnerabilities.

“Many WiFi baby monitors ship with default or easy-to-guess login credentials that were never changed,” she told Parents, adding that uninstalled manufacturer updates or insecure app settings also increase the risk of exploitation.

“An unprotected or outdated home router, such as poor encryption or an easy WiFi password, can let strangers access the entire network—and the camera by extension.”

Experts told the publication that parents should read customer reviews before buying baby monitors, vetting the product for bad reviews. In addition, they also recommend purchasing a monitor that uses a local video feed.

“When your baby monitor arrives, immediately change default login credentials to something long and unique — include a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols,” Jordan said.

“Use WPA2 or WPA3 encryption for WiFi, and choose a robust WiFi password.”