Theft of Amazon Echo - Amazon refusing to release info

[romeogolf]

When we moved house a short while ago our Amazon Echo Dot went missing in the process. After unpacking all the boxes it still hadn't turned up, so we logged into our Amazon account to see if there was a "find my dot" function.

There wasn't, but it showed the dot as being de-registered from our account. We spoke to Amazon who confirmed that the dot had been removed from our account at 6 pm on the day of the move and re-registered to a new one. They wouldn't release any information about the account it had been registered to, but knowing the only people with access to our home on that day were the removal company, it was clear to us where the item had gone. Amazon 'blocked' the dot from use, meaning it was worthless to the person who had it.

For those who don't know, the Echo Dot is about the size of a roll of sellotape, so very easy to slip into a pocket.

We reported the theft to the police and yesterday an officer visited us at home to say that Amazon refused to release any information about the individual to whom the device was re-registered without a court order. As the case was not "in the public interest" the police were not taking it further. The officer went on to explain that this wasn't uncommon and there have been numerous cases of people ordering items online through Amazon using another person's account, having them delivered to another location, and getting away with it entirely because Amazon refuses to release the information.

Ultimately, the Echo Dot is a £50 piece of tech and no huge loss, but it's infuriating that some opportunistic little turd has helped themselves to it while invited into our house.

Edited by romeogolf on Wednesday 28th June 10:59

[romeogolf]

OldGermanHeaps said:

So why aren't you angry with the police? If they did their job they would have all the information necessary but because it was more difficult than one phone call they gave up to go and work on something a bit easier. All amazon are asking is for proper paperwork before breaching the data protection act and opening themselves up to prosecution. Working in the cctv industry at least once a month i get officers asking me to commit illegal acts that could open me up to prosecution and when you tell them no they act like i'm the one in the wrong. If they want to ignore the law why the fk did they become police?

I forget the term used for the process, but there's a request for information form which the police send to Amazon. For many companies this is sufficient to release the information, but for larger, especially American, companies apparently they require a court order.

[romeogolf]

langtounlad said:

I'd be approaching the removals co and demanding its return and expecting them to take the matter seriously.
Such companies rely on a good reputation for honesty and integrity and you have enough info to embarrass them on social media.
Apparently name and shame on such sites carries considerable clout.

I have been in touch with the removals company. After reporting it to the police but before the police came back to us with the news above. The firm have denied the accusation and took a few days to reply to me. When they did so, they accused us of making a false accusation stating that they "assume the item has now been found and that the accusation that our staff stole it is incorrect."

I suggested that they told their staff there has been a reported theft of an electronic item from a customer who has contacted the police, and explained that due to the nature of the item it is easy to trace, but if it is returned the charges would be dropped in the hope that it is anonymously returned. But they have said they will not mention it to their team and will wait for the police to be in touch.

[romeogolf]

OldGermanHeaps said:

Contact your movers insurance company?

As I say, it's not about the value but the principle. The insurance company might find some way to pay out £50 (unlikely) but the light-fingered fellow gets away scot-free.

JimbobVFR said:

Am I bring too reasonable because I can see the point made by everyone involved here.

Where was the device when you moved? Was it not packed away already? Could it have been left behind and later found?

A few years my sister was moving house and a random bloke just walked in the open front door, while the removal men were in the lorry strapping down some of her stuff, luckily my sister was in the house so he legged it sharpish.

Chances are the account that registered the Dot won't be the culprit if it was nicked anyway.

We moved out of a rented flat, and went back the following day to confirm we hadn't left anything behind. We took posession of our new house some weeks before 'moving in' as it was being decorated. We had two dots, one of which we took with us initially to play the radio, and the other was left at the old place. It was the one we took first which went missing and the logs on our Amazon accounts show it being used with our voices right up to the morning of the move when we used it to play the radio. The next activity was the de-registering at 6pm. That's how we'd narrowed it down to that particualar date/time of it going walkabout.

There's definitely a chance that the new 'owner' isn't the person who took it, but they might know who sold it to them if they were contacted by authorities.

[romeogolf]

spikyone said:

Don't have one myself but it strikes me that Amazon ought to have a way of preventing devices being deregistered without authorisation, such as asking for some form of security (last 4 digits of card used to pay for it, the name of your car, or something?). That way they wouldn't have to deal with enquiries from the fuzz at all. Seems a bit of a schoolboy security balls-up that someone with no rightful access to the device or the account is able to make that sort of change.

As others have said, time to leave some suitable feedback about the light-fingered removals company and their unwillingness to address the situation, unfortunately it looks like you'll have to take the £50 hit.

Yes, my other half is a software developer and was aghast at the lack of security regarding de-registering devices with Amazon. The equivalent process with an iPhone, for example, would require your password.

My only reluctance in posting negative reviews is, quite literally, they know where we live and we also have no concrete evidence of wrong-doing by them, just a suspicion. Had the police garnered the required information from Amazon then there'd be solid evidence and a chain of process which, to us, would offer a little more peace of mind against anyone involved trying to imtimidate us etc.

mgv8 said:

Can you not get your own court order?

I don't know, can we? I wouldn't know where to start.

[romeogolf]

rxe said:

You let a device into your house with a live mic commented to Amazon's data centres and at the same time worry about the sloppy security protocols? Oh the irony.

If you feel strongly about it, don't buy another one, cancel the one you have and bin your prime account. I'm very happy with Apple's outrageously priced products because I'm, not the, er, product.

Security of the product is different to me worrying about strangers hearing me say things like "Alexa, put on BBC Radio 2" or "Alexa, how many grams of sugar are in half a cup?"

[romeogolf]

CaptainSensib1e said:

Might seem a bit OTT, but might be worth thinking about approaching the press.

The DM love this sort of stuff, and the negative publicity might get Amazon to rethink their policy on this which is clearly daft and obstructive.

I once approached the press (albeit the local paper) with a story 10 years back. The level of reporting was dire, misquoting me, and generally missing the entire point of the story. Oh, and it came with an "angry local crossing his arms" photo. I've no desire to go anywhere near that again!