Article
Do phone-recycling kiosks cause crime?
EcoATM goes on the offensive against reports that the kiosk encourages theft.
March 26, 2013 by Natalie Gagliordi — Editor of KioskMarketplace.com, Networld Media Group
They say no publicity is bad publicity. But in the case of recent controversy surrounding the ecoATM, the adage does little to soften the sting for the company behind the electronics-recycling kiosks.
"We are a little disheartened that ecoATM is getting singled out," said Ryan Kuder, director of marketing for the San Diego-based startup.
Kuder is referring to reports that the ecoATM is becoming a cash mecca for thieves looking to get a quick payout for stolen phones and electronic devices. An article in the Boston Globe quotes Gwendolyn Crump, a spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C., police as saying, "This is a huge problem. The opportunity for quick cash is driving robberies of smartphones."
Such harsh accusations are a stark contrast to sentiments shared at ecoATM, where high-level technology is touted as a theft deterrent.
"We have built ecoATMs to be simple and convenient, but law enforcement friendly," Kuder said. "It really is the worse place for a thief to sell a phone. There is a common sense check if you are a thief: If you walk up to a machine and have your picture taken with stolen property ... you are not a smart thief."
Not only will the seller have their picture taken, they also are required to scan a valid I.D., with the photo on the I.D. compared in real-time to the person standing in front of the kiosk.
"We halt transactions all the time, for all kinds of reasons," Kuder said. "The person is wearing sunglasses, or they have a scarf in their face, or the person on the I.D. isn't the one standing in front of the kiosk. We have a team of employees who are trained to do those kinds of matches."
Before the transaction is completed, users must submit a thumbprint on a biometric reader on the kiosk, creating a robust seller profile that the company makes available to law enforcement in the case of suspected thefts.
Kuder said ecoATM makes an extraordinary effort to cooperate and assist police during a theft investigation, even employing a fleet of retired law enforcement officers that helps them navigate through state and local regulations.
"We have a law enforcement advisory board that gives us advice and helps us understand and determine things we should be doing," he said. "We agree that stolen phones are a big problem but it happens very, very rarely on our kiosks."
According to Kuder, out of the hundreds of thousands of phones recycled at ecoATMs across the country, the company has had to return "a couple hundred" due to theft. The ecoATM website states that less than one out of every 4,000 devices collected by ecoATM are later reported lost or stolen.
So then why the recent attacks on the ecoATM? For Kuder, the answer is simple.
"It makes for a good story," he said.
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