Across the US, Popular Video Doorbells Are Recording their Own Thefts (digitaltrends.com)

There has been an uptick in reports of video doorbells getting stolen, according to local news reports. A story adds: According to the reports, residents are waking up in the morning or coming home at night only to find their video doorbell devices stolen. Typically the devices are screwed into place on the outside of a house, often with mounts or braces to hold them in place. While they are wired into the wall, thieves don't seem to care too much about that. In most cases, residents appear to report the devices have been pried off the side of their home. In some cases, the cameras are able to capture an image of the perpetrator as they are stealing the device. Those images are usually available through mobile apps connected to the doorbell, which might help police track down the person responsible for the theft. However, there's no guarantee that officers will be able to find the thieves, especially if they steal the device while keeping their face and other identifying features covered while on camera. Police are suggesting that people keep track of the serial number on their devices in order to keep track of them and watch in case the devices appear on Craigslist, eBay, or other online marketplaces.

Comments

Re:The world continues to surprise me

[DRJlaw]

Aren't pretty much all of these permanently tied to an account so they'd be useless to the thieves anyway?

It's cute that you think that these are equipped with secure enclaves and such like a cellular phone rather than a hard reset like your garden variety WiFi router or IoT device.

Security is something to add in v4 so that you capture a an additional round of upgrades after the early adopters and first wave mass adopters get burned by having multi-hundred-dollar pieces of equipment wander off.

Re:This is where Star Wars had it figured out

[Anonymous Coward]

Make one now. Just pay somebody minimum wage to hold the thing from behind the door. Just like in star wars.

Re:And what then?

[WolfgangVL]

The trick to motivating the police here in America is using the 2 magic words.

"Officer, they stole my doorbell, my DRUGS, and my GUNS!"

Cops will be crawling all over the place looking for things to seize.

Three words: "Warranted against theft"

[rednip]

Ring Warranty

If your Ring camera or doorbell product is stolen at any time after your purchase, Ring will replace the stolen device at no charge to you. This theft protection is not transferable and applies only to the original consumer purchaser. Coverage of this theft protection is limited to one (1) replacement only for each Ring camera or doorbell product that you have purchased. Theft protection does not apply to any products purchased from third party sellers on eBay and other online marketplaces. Any claim based on theft of your Ring camera or doorbell product must be submitted within fifteen (15) days of the theft and include the original sales receipt, and a copy of a police report evidencing that you reported the theft to the police. Failure to report the theft to police voids this theft protection