Swiped phones fund theft-for-cash trend using ecoATM kiosks in Portland area

[@charlesm2437]

Instead of making the real owner wait 30 days for the phone to be sent to Kentucky for "processing", maybe make the thief wait 30 days until they get paid

[@MarvinThiessen]

Maybe make the thief wait? You're too kind, Charles.

[@Azazel2024]

Maybe ask your usual suspects to stop stealing. You troll

[@iMatti00]

Making people who want to sell their phones wait 30 days is probably not a very good business model. I can see a reason to do that, but a lot of people who need the money need it now to fix their car or something else. They don’t have 30 days to wait.

[@bobroberts2371]

Would you be willing to wait 30 days if you sold something even not a phone?

[@jaggsta]

If they waited to pay people they wouldn't be in business they offered 1/3rd the price of other phone shops. I checked my Samsung offered $50 online phone shops offered me $150 with free prepaid label and No ID required.

[@hotttt28]

Isn't buying stolen goods illegal ?

[@RaptureReady556]

Supposed to be!

[@jakebrake3000]

Every pawn shop owner- "not really"

[@Molon_Labe1776]

The buyer has to know/suspect that it's stolen for it to stick.

[@dmo848]

Not for a machine apparently

[@bobroberts2371]

KNOWINGLY buying stolen goods is a crime. Not UNKNOWINGLY buying.

[@vicanailekara]

Nice how they protect the identity of the thief who stole Jaime’s phone.

[@NeverMetTheGuy]

They voted for this. It's great that they get what they vote for.

[@THEDONGALATOR]

Because they were black

[@Joseph-l6w]

These machines require an I.D. and also take your picture

[@jaggsta]

And Law lets them right out of jail that's why they do it.

[@Unknown_Ooh]

And fingerprint

[@z.e.r.n.i]

This was a made up story based off one mans claims.

[@Fatta007]

Facts I'm sitting here thinking like how 😂

[@Gthang-kr5zd]

Also the phone has to be unlocked… I have no idea what this video is about. Most of this video is completely false. This is a very werid video.

[@justinfitzsimmons9635]

One thing we should all realize is that they will protect the thief rather than risk people knowing what they looked like.

[@MUUKOW3]

Just have the machine mail a check to the address on the id that matches the face of the person turning it in.

[@bobroberts2371]

They already do that

[@williamjones7821]

Honestly, I don't know why any LEGIT cell phone owners would sell a recent phone at one of these machines for a small fraction of its worth. Stolen phones would still be a problem, but not EcoATM's problem.

[@NateNate60]

I don't think that's the point. The idea is to put a phone you no longer use and has basically no value in it and then get some pocket change in return. In all honesty, people treat it as a recycling bin for cell phones. I don't think anyone in their right mind would put something like last year's iPhone in it and accept $50 in return.

[@dylanclay2741]

​@@NateNate60most phones other than iphones you're lucky if they offer you $5 for your phone. Not even worth selling

[@BongoDrum-k4q]

​@@NateNate60you haven't met your local tweaker/Crack dealer then... lol

[@Gthang-kr5zd]

@@NateNate60but the phone has to be unlocked for the machine to process your phone. Soo if the theft has an unlocked phone then why wouldn’t they just sell it on eBay or facebook marketplace. You don’t even need id to sell on facebook marketplace and some people wear covid masks when selling stolen phones and metting up with people on facebook marketplace. You’re more likely to get caught selling it to that machine and also you will get less money. I don’t understand this video at all. Very werid video

[@ricardogilmore5314]

This is crazy, I just had the same thing happen to me. Long process to go though but I’ve gotten my device back. The best part of my situation was that my phone was fully charged so I was able to track it from ATL to Kentucky during the whole 30 day process.

[@_zip_fly_]

How can thieves use someone else's ID if they scan your face as well as the ID?

[@genxvrx]

Retarded newscasters

[@rgarito]

The ATM should require the seller to unlock the phone before it will purchase it.

[@catacocamping874]

Some do it funny the red states have strict laws regarding this blue not so much as you can see

[@dylanclay2741]

​@@catacocamping874because blue states don't believe in punishing criminals

[@Ciloverse]

you can hard reset ANY PHONE and have it be unlocked thats not the problem

[@Fatta007]

They make you put in a ID and take a picture of you ...police being lazy

[@BongoDrum-k4q]

​@Ciloverse not true , it would most likely Google lock it, it might look unlocked but I'm 99% sure the phone would connect to the machine via charing cord and it would show that's its still not actually unlocked , and Google frp locked

[@famousamoso7]

I would think most fraud/theft could be prevented if the Eco ATM required the seller to connect the phone to the ECO ATM and the ECO ATM then was able to verify if the phone was factory reset (indicating unlikely stolen) or if it had a passcode the seller would have to enter it to prove it was their phone. Something like that is better than nothing when its as easy as it is to use fake ID's and redeem stolen phones for cash.

[@jaggsta]

4:09 $205 for $600 Iphone 14 Plus you know its stolen at that point.

[@Gthang-kr5zd]

That’s the deal the machine gives you. Yeah it’s a bad deal, you should see what they would give you for a couple year old Samsung phone. They would only give you like 30$. People are not stealing phones and selling them to that machine because it’s a locked phone. That machine requires the phone to be unlocked, I like that they lied about that part and says that the phone can be locked and the machine will buy it. No that is completely false. They guy that stole the guys phone in this video, unlocked the phone and he was just too impatient to sell it on eBay or facebook marketplace and make actually money from it. I would be very surprised if it said that stolen phones end up in that machine more than 1 percent of the time. Like 99 percent of the time stolen phones are shipped overseas and sold there or they are sold on eBay or facebook marketplace.

[@ChasenCooper-j2i]

Eco ATM's are just another scam people...

[@KingTechHD]

That’s crazy. Didn’t know it’ll let you sell it locked with a code

[@Ciloverse]

that is not high resolution images. it looks like a camera from 2002

[@davidhenderson3400]

The very first time I seen one of these phone ATM machines I knew this was going to be a problem. I'm surprised it's not a bigger problem.

[@nancysaso4380]

At my Fred Meyers tweekers are the only ones using this machine and the one day they stole the entire machine in the middle of the night!

[@dieseldragon6756]

Oh fc🇬🇧, that's actually a comical crime hack! Steal a bunch of mobile phones, drop them into an EcoATM for cash, then steal the EcoATM that night to get the phones back for de-ID'ing _and_ the remaining cash inside the machine too! 🤣 Of course: If the machines are easy enough to steal, a more _sensible_ crook might just wait until the night after the ATM has been emptied of phones and the cash box has been topped up. Stolen cash is a lot easier to pass off and a lot harder to trace than a stolen iPhone... 💰 *Edit:* ...And of course, that's why EcoATMs here in the UK _only_ offer payment via bank transfer. Not only can you be ID'd by your bank account, but we now have „takeback“ laws which allow funds obtained by wire fraud to be recovered back to the victims account. 💷💨👍

[@Andrew-f9t]

I work for Fred Meyer too and I have seen some people who look like they could not afford IPhones try to sell iPhones to the device.

[@BongoDrum-k4q]

boss lol

[@Jason_Moore619]

They dont pay good at all I could get more from Facebook marketplace or Ebay

[@davidhenderson3400]

This encourages theft. I guess next they'll have a copper wire by back ATM on one side of it and then a catalytic converter buyback machine on the other side. These phone ATM machines shouldn't even be illegal.

[@mrjiggy716]

dude these machines dont pay crap. Got brand new Samsung 24 ultra paid 16000 for it. For the hell of it I put it in the machine they offered me 15.00 .

[@BongoDrum-k4q]

I think you met 1600 if not you got Fuck×d

[@snypa-ck7hn]

all a city would have to do is make it a policy that if a representative would not be there within an hour to open the machine, the fire department would be instructed to open the machine by force. JUST make that the rule and they would come running. We are too lenient on doing the right thing. We protect criminals and hurt victims. We are completely reversed here in america

[@RichLux713]

What is that Pokemon vending machine ??????

[@StephenSternforPresident]

Leave your phone in the kitchen at home

[@Azazel2024]

Remember I pods? My phones just for podcasts and of course Scott Steiner theme that I listen to over and over at the gym ! Holla if you hear me !

[@codemang87]

@@Azazel2024 iPod era was the last time Apple was actually cool and innovative.

[@kcastillo1234]

People get scammed buying stolen phone all the time and go to repair shops asking if they are able to be unlocked

[@jordanf7424]

This is a terrible business model, these machines should be banned and this company shut down, they are literally creating opportunity crime.

[@michelangelothegreat6183]

These “ATMs” should be banned. Period.

[@iMatti00]

I think that is a completely illogical take. Anything can be stolen at any time. And in fact these ATMs go above and beyond to do the right thing for innocent people. Only way I think it makes sense to ban these ATMs is if you want the same thing to happen to local shops. I don’t want to be nasty, but that just silly and doesn’t make any sense.

[@m.stewart7208]

No they shouldn't. Regulation and verification, as well as a waiting period can fix a lot of this.

[@Anthony-G2G]

how about ECOATM collect the pictures of the people who sold stolen phones, and put their pictures on social media to out them. And or add them to a database to prevent them from selling phones in the future. Instead of slapping them on the wrist, then allowing them to do it all over again.

[@Azazel2024]

Thats RAYCIST

[@Molon_Labe1776]

Then how will they grow their inventory? 😂

[@mattschehr163]

@@Azazel2024no it’s not racist and we have the right to be racist white people only no black no Asian no Arab no Mexican no nobody

[@phxsisko]

@@Azazel2024 - wow, no one mentioned race. Nice way of outing yourself tho

[@phxsisko]

or how about people are innocent until proven guilty? Post a picture of a "thief" and then they go to court and prove you were wrong, then you get sued and rightfully so. Why would I ever want to give this kind of power to companies? They work with cops. Good enough. There's a national database of cops who were caught doing wrong and guess what, those people can still get cop jobs right down the street. Maybe we should fix these "lists" before creating new ones?

[@randy7928]

When you go to a sketchy cell phone shop to get a screen replacement, this is where they're sourcing the parts.

[@genxvrx]

No

[@GrizzlyUrsusArctos]

There was no thief?

[@Azazel2024]

Black so protected

[@mattschehr163]

@@Azazel2024no black

[@blaquenoise]

Wait, so you need an ID to register the device that is being sold, and the system has countermeasures in place to check the person with the ID. So how can stealing an ID that isn't the said person still work in selling a stolen device?

[@MyHighHorse]

Not going to mention the judges who don’t prosecute or give extremely light sentences? The problem isn’t the ECOatm, it’s that criminals are allowed to operate without consequences. YOU GET WHAT YOU VOTE FOR!

[@Maybe1Someday]

Yeah Id be taking the machine apart then and there. Its a civil matter too so it would be legal to take it apart and get your phon back. Fact is eco atm buys stolen items, thats a crime. Recieving stoeln property. Noone in their right mind but a thief sells their phone at a grocery store...

[@JPTulo]

4:56 28 days later?! Are you kidding me?! They told him “please keep your lines open” except he couldn’t keep his line open because they had his phone. This is absolutely insane. Why couldn’t an officer and a store rep open up the machine and retrieve it for him on the spot? I hope he was reimbursed for inconvenience and the thief was held accountable, although I’m sure neither of those things happened.

[@GoodBaleadaMusic]

Sweet. It should make one of these for cars

[@WASTEOFTIMESTUDIOS]

Phone can be worth $400 trade-in, ecoatm will offer $50. Not many legitimate owners dropping them off in a box. If it requires the phone to be unlocked to be scanned, then reset to complete transaction, ecoatm would be dead overnight

[@nope-87-12x]

'proactive measures' lol

[@parker73724]

Eco atm has caught several phone thieves. It literally requires a valid id an a photo of you.

[@willkendallpro]

In my opinion, stolen phones could be the only viable business model for EcoATM. I hope the FBI steps in to investigate this company. And why are local businesses like Fred Meyer enabling theft by allowing these machines on their premises? It seems to me that they are also legally liable.

[@michaelmiguel6937]

90 percent of these phones are stolen. There’s no way of knowing that your phone is sold to one of these. The owners know what they are doing to because they offer far below market value for the phones that they buy, mostly put up in low income areas

[@ThriftyCHNR]

It appears that theft is NOT a concern for this company. Their precautions don't do enough to prevent theft. In fact I believe they make a lot of money off paying cheap prices for stolen phones. There must be hundreds if not thousands more victims.

[@oldguy7402]

I see a huge expansion of eco ATMs into San Francisco, Chicago, and Seattle. They already have Portland.

[@glizzy2236]

Buddy wasn’t gonna confront nobody 😂😂 He soft

[@ricardogilmore5314]

And to be honest, if it wasn’t for the dumb person selling my phone to the atm, I may not have it still.

[@RoseCityRideRevival]

I usually never click these random joints but yo this shit is 🔥🔥🧨🧨💪

[@Derekzparty]

So basically steal someone's phone/purse/wallet, then head to Macy's to get makeup and clothes to look the part?

[@Ciloverse]

isn’t receiving stolen property illegal

[@henrydillard6217]

Companies don't have to follow the law as closely as you and I.

[@salvyballacc]

The REAL thieves are those ATMs.

[@BugattiFlow]

These things are always in poor neighborhoods and it’s always some homeless looking person trading in 5 phones. They need to ban these stupid things. It’s more bad than good.

[@jakebrake3000]

This is not shocking. Did we not know this was happening? My goodness we've become stupid.

[@Molon_Labe1776]

Right!? These atms have been around FOR YEARS. This is nothing new. Notice at 1:40 the police reports go back to 2020! Must be a slow news day.

[@TransitAndTeslas]

Get rid of ecoATMs entirely.

[@iMatti00]

I think that is a completely illogical take. Anything can be stolen at any time. And in fact these ATMs go above and beyond to do the right thing for innocent people. Only way I think it makes sense to ban these ATMs is if you want the same thing to happen to local shops. I don’t want to be nasty, but that just silly and doesn’t make any sense.c

[@inc2000glw]

It's a ad 😮

[@isaac198428]

If payment for selling a phone took weeks or months to process and mail the check or deposit it into a preferred account/card, there would be less crime. The ‘instant cash’ is the main problem attracting thieves. Common sense; Most Smartphones cost ranges from $500-$1,400 so it doesn’t make sense that someone is going to sell a gently used smartphone for a fraction of the cost these kiosks when they can get a higher price or a discount towards another smartphone at a carrier of their choice especially if upgrading. That means majority of the people selling phones to this kiosk stole them. Only a handful are real owners who maybe need some quick cash.

[@bigdogzone3177]

Pawn shops get in trouble for buying stolen items why the guys who operate Eco ATM don't ?

[@Juhlapeno]

these need to be banned, the only people using them are phone theifs, because these machines offer so little p.s even if a phone is locked, and icloud locked u can still unlock them with one click with the right computer program

[@Itsme-mx5tl]

Would have been smarter and easier to break into that phone machine, since the cops won't do anything nor will the judges and DAs

[@planethedgehog2427]

1:34 "Eco ATM machines...." Stop it. It isn't an ATM machine. What do you think the M means?🤔

[@GunProtectingDOPE]

3:55 ecoATM the crooks too, iPhone 14 for 200$ bucks😂

[@ronaldckrausejr7762]

Conspiracy to commit fraud Show the paper trail as to how many stolen devices turn up on these variations of ATM phone sale machines, and then have them pulled. Issue a Judge’s order to have them removed, or to seize them.

[@wadessirenvideos6750]

These ECO ATM kiosks to get cash for phones are a bad idea. What percentage, on average, of the phones turned into these kiosks are from stolen phones or other electronic devices? Someone did not take this into consideration when inventing this stupid concept!!!!

[@-----------------------------]

It's safe to say the only people who uae these are people who are trying to sell stolen phones. The rates are absolutely trash, no legit person would sell it there.

[@Bob-p2q9q]

This was a story months ago eco ATM said they would correct this problem

[@interpol9871]

Boycott ecoATM

[@FauxQue-yk8dt]

Why leave your phone laying around to get stolen? I've have owned a cell phone since 1990 and never left it out of my sight or on my person. Not even in my vehicle

[@BongoDrum-k4q]

it still works ? lmao bs because that would be running on networks that don't even exist anymore to force you to upgrade /get a new phone/spend more money you don't want to spend

[@FauxQue-yk8dt]

@@BongoDrum-k4q Since you seem a little slow I edited my comment

[@NelsonBigGunP200Fan]

Would this be able to detect apple iphones that are icloud locked but have been bypassed with software like checkM8?

[@edbenelli5374]

Phenty-4-phones. What a great idea. What could go wrong?

[@dieseldragon6756]

The primary defence against this: *Enable **_Find my Device_* and ensure remote lock and erase features are turned on. This means if your phone is stolen and dropped into one of these, you can at least remove your personal data and prevent the device from being reactivated by anybody else without your permission even if it's already inside the ATM. On Apple devices, _make sure_ your have your devices locked to your iCloud account. 👍 Also: If you can positively track and prove your device to be locked inside a cellphone ATM, you can also insist the ATM operator comes to retrieve it for you within a reasonable amount of time (i.e: Inside the hour) otherwise you _may_ have the right to break open the ATM and retrieve your property. If they haven't performed due diligence checks before accepting and locking your device inside their equipment (Which they definitely haven't, if it's stolen) then any loss to the criminal and/or to their ATM reasonably rests upon them. ⚖

[@michaelanthony508]

28 days later???? ZOMBIE OUTBREAK

[@Retrocidal]

Just make sure they can unlock the phones i sold like 10 phones from my family we had kaying around

[@abelincoln3261]

Whos buying them? Are the buyers hacking them and selling the data or are they using the daya themselves ..are these phones ending up in China Russia... North Korea The Middle East or right here in the US?

[@cesarsalgadosalgado2199]

Those are all lies and false stuff the kiosks don't accept phones locked and with a sim card the person has to carrier unlock the device take out the SIM card and trade it in the kiosks don't accept locked phones and with a sim card

[@jessicalee3245]

Not true

[@Azazel2024]

Huh. You sound trustworthy

[@mattschehr163]

@@Azazel2024huh you sound racist

[@jaggsta]

They do accept locked phones at 10% of value. They sell it for parts.

[@loganq]

I wonder who is buying all the catalytic converters.

[@dieseldragon6756]

Whoever's extracting and melting down the platinum that's in them. _That's_ what's fuelling (Sorry!) cat theft... 💎

[@jpmnky]

It’s pretty clear who is who using those things.

[@hiamvu]

They could catch the thieves but not the company, the real theft behind.😂

[@stebopign]

i was wondering how they know what phone you have. like i tried checking how much my non samsung android would be bought for, i got rejected. lols. for the record i bought this for 300 4 years ago. haha.

[@bdmaus4975]

Its a front

[@Troy-b4n]

Drug related?

[@Fatta007]

Them machines make you put in a ID and take a picture to make sure it match ....seem like police being lazy or eco dont wanna give up personal info cause ruin their business

[@DakotaZ162]

Isn't buying Stolen property still a crime? Lol

[@bruceincremona9241]

Welcome To The Future

[@ElizabethHurtado-py8ur]

That's BS

[@tommyboy256]

I thought u needed a valid id for these maybe yall should add an id scanner on these fuck i have to have a valid id to with draw money from most of my banks atms so why not for something thats commonly stolen

[@evanjsx]

Is that a Pokémon card vending machine? TIL these exist

[@williamjones7821]

I fight theft at my warehouse job. I fitted my "Igloo Little Playmate" with a lock and hasp from Home Depot. Just like the lock on an outdoor shed. It is still possible to steal the entire 9-can cooler, but my sandwich and potato chips are not worth it. And I would leave my cell phone at home, or under the seat of my car.

[@phxsisko]

LMAO! with your phone under your car seat or at home, how do you use SMS or any of the features of the phone? Your "solution" is nonsensical for the majority of users.

[@xxzstatixx562]

😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮😮

[@NeverMetTheGuy]

It's almost like theft increased where they wanted less cops. It's great to see them getting what they voted for.

[@Denvermorgan2000]

This needs to be banned immediately.

[@iMatti00]

I think that is a completely illogical take. Anything can be stolen at any time. And in fact these ATMs go above and beyond to do the right thing for innocent people. Only way I think it makes sense to ban these ATMs is if you want the same thing to happen to local shops. I don’t want to be nasty, but that just silly and doesn’t make any sense.b

[@anmweather8668]

You need to use your Id to turn in your phone atleast herez