SPY SHOP REELS IN THE NOSY, THE ANXIOUS, THE 007 FANS.

Byline: Deborah Adamson Daily News Staff Writer

It's a smoke alarm. No, it's really a camera.

At Jason Allami's Thousand Oaks store, things are not what they seem - an umbrella doubles as an audio recorder, an innocent-looking pen is also a bug detector and a Dick Tracy-esque watch sports a hidden camera.

Allami's Over The Counter Spy Shop sells about 120 ``secret agent'' items for the nosy, the anxious and the would-be James Bond types.

Remember the scene in ``Executive Decision,'' where a tuxedo-clad Kurt Russell peers into a cable scope to surreptitiously watch terrorists? Allami's store carries it. He also sells a hostage-tracking system, a money-tracking device and infrared TV cameras.

A former electrical engineer, Allami launched his business at 3737 Thousand Oaks Blvd. in April, after noticing the potential for this niche market.

``I'm a gadget person,'' he said. ``I'm a fan of technology. I believe in it.''

But surveillance equipment can be expensive. His prices range from $10 for a reflector laser light to $30,000 for a satellite phone built into a briefcase.

His clients include parents who want to secretly videotape their children's baby sitters, and a private investigator seeking to track a suspect's activities by giving him an alarm clock with a hidden camera.

Cameras are a hot item, according to purveyors of espionage gear.

``The biggest surge has been in covert video cameras. There's been an enormous problem in economic espionage,'' said Marsha Pearl, a corporate spokeswoman for Counter Spy Shop, a unit of CCS International in New York, with stores in Beverly Hills, New York, Washington, Florida and London.

Its video cameras can be hidden in overhead sprinkler systems, wall clocks and other places to record any theft of proprietary business information.

Celebrities buy surveillance equipment for personal protection, said John Dresden, owner of Spy Tech Agency in West Hollywood.

Several storekeepers have bought bullet-proof vests at The Privacy Connection in Woodland Hills, said president Phil Wolvek. Its array of surveillance products include a teddy bear with a hidden camera.

``We're not James Bond, we're Q,'' which makes 007's high-tech gadgets, he said. ``If they want to be James Bond for a day, we'll outfit them.''

But ordinary citizens should be careful using such gadgets.

Federal law prohibits the ownership and secret use of wire-tapping equipment, according to the U.S. Justice Department. Law enforcement agents are allowed to use it, but they need a court order to do so.

In California, it's illegal to record conversations without the consent of all parties involved.

The case for videotaping is less clear. The pivotal question is whether there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, said Erwin Chemerinsky, professor of constitutional law at the University of Southern California.

For example, a shoplifter caught on tape by a store camera can't sue the retailer for invasion of privacy because the shop is a public place where there's no expectation of privacy.

However, if the retailer puts a camera in the restroom that peers into the stalls, then there is a violation of privacy, Chemerinsky says.

Allami says that he stamps customers' invoices with guidelines on the use of surveillance equipment, and makes sure they sign them.

But there's still no guarantee they will use the products legally, a situation that is beyond the control of the retailer.

``My responsibility is not to ensure their honesty,'' Allami said. ``My responsibility is to notify them.''

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2 Photos

Photo: (1--Color) Jason Allami, owner of the Over the Co unter Spy Shop in Thousand Oaks, shows off a parabolic microphone capable of picking up a conversation 200 feet away, and a stuffed animal containing a hidden camera.

(2) Spy shop owner Jason Allami displays a pair of night vision goggles.

David Crane/Daily News