Retail
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June 4, 2025
Concerns have arisen over stolen cellphones being sold through ecoATM kiosks following an incident where a Colorado news producer tracked her daughter’s stolen phone to one of the machines, according to a 9 News report. Police records from several Colorado jurisdictions indicate hundreds of reports mentioning ecoATMs in connection with stolen property investigations over several years.
EcoATM states it employs security measures such as photo ID scanning, fingerprinting and seller photos, and cooperates with law enforcement to return stolen devices. Despite these measures, the machines have been identified as a destination for some stolen phones.
«At face value, the idea that you can walk in and turn over, sell stolen property to a machine, it seems like the perfect vehicle to further your crime,» Chase Amos, a spokesman for Arvada Police, told the news outlet. «I’m impressed with ecoATMs verification methods when someone sells them a device.»
Authorities generally advise victims to report stolen phones and their unique identifiers to the police and not attempt to recover them independently, even if tracked to a specific location.