On December 11th, a Chinese netizen residing in Hunan Province, China, uploaded a video of them flying a toy helicopter they bought for 80 RMB (about 16,700 KRW / ~$12 USD) and exposed what happened to them.
Right after buying it, while doing a test flight inside the house, they allegedly received a phone call from the local Public Security Bureau (Gong'an).
When they answered, the Gong'an asked, "Are you currently controlling a drone inside your house?"
When they confirmed it, the Gong'an asked if they had completed real-name registration and received flight permission.
So the Chinese netizen asked how they knew they were flying it, and the response was, "The system detected the flight trajectory."
The explanation here is vague, so we can't be sure, but it seems to be one of two possibilities:
1. They were being monitored externally.
2. The toy itself has some sort of surveillance system that tipped them off.
When this video was shared on overseas sites, foreign netizens speculated that possibility #2 was highly likely.
To quote one netizen's response:
"Even without a GPS signal, it still has characteristics of WiFi and radio. Because manufacturers are required to monitor devices, the firmware is set up so that as soon as power is connected and it lifts off, it broadcasts its identifying information to the surroundings, allowing the spectrum characteristics used by drones to be easily identified by 'cloud posts' and feature analyzers located everywhere, whether in flight, in fields, or in the city."
"Netizens discuss whether the Chinese government tracked the user via the toy's embedded system or purchase history/Great Firewall, then suddenly shift to comparing it to South Korea's own hyper-dense air defense radar network around Seoul. Don't fly a drone near Seoul Forest, confirmed."
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