News

Kiosk recycles phones for cash, aids in catching thieves

July 22, 2014

Jackson, Tenn.-based ecoATM is helping serve justice inside Old Hickory Mall , according to a wbbjtv.com article.    

The phone-recycling kiosk was placed in the mall last July to offer visitors a place to recycle old phones for cash.

While police believe the kiosk may attract criminals dumping stolen phones, it may also catch them. The kiosk takes a photo of each user and copies the customer's driver's license and thumb print. The information is submitted to law enforcement officials.

"It shows how technology is really changing," Jackson Police Department Lieutenant Jeff Shepard said in the article. "We enter this information into our computer; it will tell us if it is stolen or not."

Two stolen phones were reported to the kiosk out of the 1,500 collected so far, according to the article.

This isn't ecoATM's first brush with the law. The company had previously come under fire for possibly making it easier for thieves to recoup cash for phones they'd stolen, an assertion it has vigorously denied. It also has worked with law enforcement to combat cellphone theft and to ensure the public that its kiosks do not contribute to the issue of reselling stolen phones.