Category: amazon

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Some Police Departments Can Now Monitor Neighborhoods Through Amazon’s Ring Doorbells

Ring, Amazon’s home security company, makes video doorbells that allow homeowners to answer the door from anywhere using their smartphone. In what some are calling an invasion of privacy, Amazon is now collaborating with law enforcement agencies to give them access to the video streams from Ring doorbells — though only in certain regions.

Amazon named 405 different law enforcement agencies currently working with Ring. Police can submit a request for a video recording of an incident from a Ring doorbell through Amazon’s neighborhood watch app, Neighbors Portal. Authorities can also view and comment on public posts on the app, where users are encouraged to share “tips” about criminal activity in their neighborhoods.

Giving access to these video streams will help police “make decisions about how to deploy emergency personnel,” Lifehacker reports.

Photo Credit: Amazon

Ring says it doesn’t provide personal information about its customers to the police without consent. When police request access to video footage, they don’t know where the request goes until the user chooses to share the video.

The company’s collaboration with the police doesn’t end there. Amazon has also pursued access to real-time emergency dispatch data to help push out alerts about crime activity. This data includes personally identifiable information, such as names and even precise GPS information.

So, how do you find out if this is happening in your city? Amazon posted an interactive map of all the law enforcement agencies they’re currently involved with. They include police departments in Miami, Phoenix, Houston, Denver and Detroit.

Photo Credit: Amazon

If you’re curious how ring works, check out this video:

I can see the appeal of giving law enforcement access to this data, I really can – but with all the data breaches and secret government surveillance programs we’ve dealt with, can we honestly say it’s a good idea for a private company to be helping law enforcement get video of what happens on our own doorsteps?

It seems like a short hop to panopticon.

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You Can Buy a Tiny House on Amazon for $37,000 That Expands by Remote Control

If you and your family have put in any time house hunting, you know it’s very difficult to find what you’re looking for and not pay a fortune for it. In backlash, the tiny house has arisen.

The tiny house craze doesn’t seem to be letting up any time soon, and now there’s a new addition to the market that you can actually buy on Amazon. And why not? You can buy almost every single you’ll ever need in life on Amazon, so might as well throw a house into the mix as well.

This tiny house is designed by a Chinese company called WHZ Group and costs just $36,800, plus $1,000 for shipping. Just FYI, the average home price in the United States right now is $227,700.

Photo Credit: Amazon/WZH Group

The house can also be expanded with a hydraulic system by using a remote control. How’s that for 21st-century technology?

The house has wind and solar-power systems, a small living space, kitchenette, and a bathroom with a sink, shower, and toilet. If owners are so inclined, they can also have the house wired for electricity. WHZ Group also sells a slightly different version of the house, also on Amazon.

Here are a few photos of the interior.

Photo Credit: Amazon/WZH Group

Photo Credit: Amazon/WZH Group

Photo Credit: Amazon/WZH Group

The house also features a folding deck and a canopy. Take a look at the floor plan:

Photo Credit: Amazon/WZH Group

And this is what the floor plan looks like when the house is compactly folded using the remote control.

Photo Credit: Amazon/WZH Group

Are tiny houses the future? Or just a passing fad that is overhyped at the moment?

What do you think of this idea? I say the smaller, the better. Sign me up!

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Amazon Employees Are Suspiciously Tweeting About Their Amazing Work Conditions

In years past, Amazon has been in the news for having unfit working conditions for many of their employees, especially employees working in their call and fulfillment centers (FC).

According to NewsWeek, “An undercover investigation in the United Kingdom revealed that warehouse employees resort to urinating in bottles and trash cans around the warehouse so that they won’t miss their strict time targets.”

Photo Credit: Unsplash, Daniel Eledut

Insane.

For obvious reason, Amazon has been on a mission to squash these so-called rumors, so they turned to their “FC Ambassadors” for help. These employees are on a team that posts on Twitter and social media about how much they enjoy working with Amazon.

While the retail juggernaut insists these people are real and speaking their true minds, Twitter followers smelled something fishy. Many were curious about the strangely stilted language being used. This FC Ambassador mission started over a year ago, and since then there has been some serious backlash.

One Twitter user wrote:

Here are some Amazon FC Ambassadors doing their thing…or not…who knows?

Are these people even real?

An Amazon spokesperson said,

“FC ambassadors are employees who work in our FCs and share facts based on their personal experience. It’s important that we do a good job educating people about the actual environment inside our fulfillment centers, and the FC ambassador program is a big part of that along with the FC tours we provide.

Thousands of guests across the world have come to see for themselves what it’s like to work inside one of our FCs. If you haven’t visited, we recommend it.”

But Twitter folks aren’t having it.

You get the point. As a way to combat this further, Amazon has been offering FC tours for anyone who would like to check it out. You can follow #AmazonFCTour for more on that. In the meantime, we can all sit back and watch this unfold.

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The Amazon Rainforest Is Burning, and It’s an Environmental Disaster

The Amazon rainforest is on fire, and experts say this wildfire will affect climate change for many years to come.

CNN reported that The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) has said the fires are burning at the highest rate they’ve seen since tracking started in 2013.

Sao Paulo, 1700 miles away, is seeing smoke from the fire’s blazes.

Video shows heavy smoke and smog overcoming the city and creating black out conditions.

Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay, too, are seeing heavy, black smoke coming from the Brazilian fires.

The INPE also reported there were 72,843 fires in Brazil this year. More than half of those fires burned in the Amazon. This represents an 80 percent increase in the total number of fires over last year.

Photo Credit: NASA Earth Observatory

Natural disasters can spark flames when the area is dry, but these fires are also frequently started illegally by ranchers trying to clear out forest to create grazing land for cattle. Environmentalists are blaming Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, for relaxing laws limiting deforestation and underplaying the disaster in general to the rest of the world.

According to the BBC, the Amazon rainforest contributes 20 percent of the Earth’s oxygen. Plus, the rainforest is home to millions of species of plants and animals, as well as over one million indigenous people.

The rainforest is critical to millions of lives and to the Earth, itself.

If the Amazon is destroyed, the World Wildlife Fund says the area will likely become a savannah, but inhospitable to people, animals or plants.

And instead of pumping out oxygen, the new savannah will be the Earth’s next major source of carbon emissions. Meaning, the Amazon will no longer serve as the lungs of the world, but will begin pump out enough carbon to actually drive the climate crisis.

This is bad news, folks. Bad news indeed.

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Amazon Is Now Selling Live Animals Online – Here Are a Few You Can Buy

In the dark recesses of Amazon, they sell live animals. It’s crazy to think that your Prime subscription can deliver a live thing on your doorstep within two days.

Before your imagination runs away from you, they are not selling anything from the actual Amazon rainforest, or even anything from a local farm.

Bummer…

Their selection is limited to animals around the size of your hand. Think home aquarium or pond.

Ready to dive in and see what they have?

Snails

Photo Credit: Amazon

Looking for the perfect algae eater to clean your tank? You can have this guy for just over $13!

Or you can have these interesting Malaysian Trumpet Snails. Isn’t he cute?

Photo Credit: Amazon

Koi

Are you looking to refresh your Koi stock? It appears there is a multitude of varieties and colors available for purchase.

Photo Credit: Amazon

Just be aware – Koi can get pricey real fast.

Tropical Fish

If tropical fish or the familiar Beta fish are more your speed, Amazon does not disappoint.

Photo Credit: Amazon

Photo Credit: Amazon

If you are scratching your head on delivery issues, check with each supplier. Most likely they offer a refund policy if these poor animals don’t arrive safely. World Wide Tropicals explains:

Dead On Arrival Policy: In the rare event that you receive a dead fish or invert please send us a picture within two hours of delivery, preferably still in the bag. Please include as much information as you can so our staff can check into the issue. Provided a customer follows our Item Acceptance Policy, we can then offer a refund, a replacement shipment, or a replacement fish on a future order. These instances are handled case by case, as it is such a rare occurrence.

And also consult with the supplier to better understand how delivery works. Most are not responsible if fish die because the items are not opened in a timely manner. See this example:

Item Acceptance Policy: Customers will receive an e-mail with tracking number and a delivery date. The delivery time of our packages should be about the same time a customer generally receives mail via UPS or USPS. Please make arrangement ensuring you are able to receive the fish when it is delivered. We are not responsible for packages left out in the elements for multiple hours, or for fish that are delivered but not unpacked in a timely fashion.

For more info on all Amazon availability, check out their “Best Sellers List.” And for all you aquarists out there…you’re welcome!

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5 Ultra-Smooth Con Artists Who Managed to Sell Things They Didn’t Even Own

From Nigerian princes to fake IRS phone calls, con artists have been a thorn in society’s side forever. Still, every now and then someone pulls off a con that’s so hard to believe, you almost have to admire their ability to have pulled it off.

Here are 5 con artists who have taken things to the next level:

1. He sold almost $1.5 million in non-existent electronics on Amazon

Photo Credit: Pixabay

James Symons used multiple fake accounts to sell expensive electronics on Amazon. When the merchandise didn’t arrive, Amazon was forced to repay the customers and find Symons. He spent more than four years defrauding people using the well-known site.

2. He sold In-n-Out franchises

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Craig Stevens conned 10 Middle Eastern investors into buying fake In-n-Out franchises. He was only caught because he emailed the fake franchise agreements, which made it wire fraud and got him two years in a federal prison.

This is especially sad because it’s well documented that In-n-Out doesn’t even sell franchises. So… maybe it’s best practice to Google a franchise before you decide to buy?

3. He’s still wanted by the FBI

Nicolae Popescu is wanted for posting ads for non-existent cars and other high-ticket items on internet auction sites. He worked with a team and used fraudulent passports to open bank accounts and look as legitimate as possible to potential buyers. It’s estimated that he stole more than $3 million from consumers, and there is a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

4. Be careful on Craigslist…

A man was looking for a new boat on Craigslist when he found an unexpected listing—an ad for the boat he already owned. He contacted the “seller,” who turned out to be Gregory Bartucci. Bartucci was convicted of theft, and then went on to try the scam again, this time with two bulldozers.

Some people never learn.

5. This guy sold the Eiffel Tower. TWICE.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Victor Lustig was born in 1890 in what is now in the Czech Republic. He started gambling while he was in college, which led him to a life of petty crime. He pulled cons on both sides of the Atlantic with the help of his fluency in five languages (which, damn!).

In the mid 1920s, the Eiffel Tower wasn’t the glorious city-centerpiece it is today. Actually, it was so run down that Parisians wanted it to be demolished. Lustig saw his opportunity and talked a businessman into “buying” the Eiffel Tower for scrap. When the man went to cash in on the deal, he was so embarrassed to find he was conned, and never reported it to police. This allowed Lustig to scam another businessman, who also “bought” the tower.

Lustig fled Paris and continued his life of crime in the U.S. He was captured and tried in 1935, dying in prison in 1947.

Oops…

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The Trend on Amazon That’s Landing People in Jail

Can you imagine a life without Amazon? What started as a way to buy books online way back when has now evolved into a trillion dollar corporation that’s become a part of our lives in ways we never could have anticipated even a decade ago. Today, we use Amazon to shop, read, sell products, watch television and movies, and even as a personal assistant!

Photo Credit: Pixabay

It’s so big that it shouldn’t come entirely as a surprise that young people are finding ways to defraud the conglomerate.

Amazon’s return and replacement policies, which are generous by industry standards, are the root of the majority of the fraud taking place. And even though they’re not losing money fast enough for it to impact their stock prices or bottom line, the company recently decided to prosecute some of these fraudsters.

One of the cases they’ve brought is against 24-year-old Joseph Sides of Boca Raton, Florida. He was taken to trial on federal charges of wire fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. The arraignment listed a litany of complaints:

“Between March 2016 and June 2018, Sides created approximately 501 Amazon accounts using false names, multiple email addresses, and altered shipping addresses to place approximately 1227 orders.”

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Simply by telling Amazon sellers that merchandise never came or arrived damaged, he acquired a stunning $229k in merchandise, replacements and refunds. However, since they caught him, he could face up to 20 years in prison for each charge brought against him.

Last year, Indiana couple Erin and Leah Finan pled guilty to similar charges, except that they had been able to defraud Amazon out of a whopping $1.2 million. They were sentenced to 71 and 68 months in prison, respectively.

These types of retail cons aren’t exactly new. In the days of brick-and-mortar shoplifting, thieves would steal an item from one location and then return it to another belonging to the same company. This is the same type of scam, according to Michael Benza, a criminal law professor at Case Western Reserve University. But, he tells Vice, the prosecutions probably aren’t about the money:

“To most people, $230,000 is a lot of money, but for Amazon, it probably doesn’t do anything to hurt its stock price. However, if a very large number of customers do this to Amazon, the company will see a lot of money going out the door. I imagine in this case, Amazon got involved to send a message to cybercriminals.”

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Amazon assists in catching these types of offenders in order to save the data it mines from its transactions (yeah, they really do that), and it’s likely they will continue given that these types of online return schemes are on the rise. Red Soto, the director of security research for the cybersecurity firm Jask, told Vice just how quickly they’re popping up:

“Some involve sophisticated groups that purchase programming scripts on the dark web that allows them to automate the creation of fake profiles and follow certain items to purchase. It’s a lot easier to catch one person, but when you have 30 people placing orders at different times and sending items to different addresses and foreign countries, it is a lot harder to track down.”

However, if Amazon’s third quarter earnings report is any indication, the company is doing just fine. They expect some loss, fraud and abuse, and figure it into their bottom line. And, frankly, the retail side of the business is nowhere near as profitable as their web services.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

That said, these recent arrests and prosecutions prove that Amazon isn’t just going to let people get away with defrauding them left and right. So behave out there on the internet, friends. You may be sitting behind a screen, but companies like Amazon see right into your thieving little hearts.

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A Super-Stinger Wasp Was Discovered in the Amazon

As if regular wasps weren’t frightening enough, now you have another insect to worry about. It’s a super-stinger wasp that was discovered in the Amazon by researchers from the University of Turku in Finland.

Photo Credit: The University of Turku

The Calistoga crassicaudata has a stinger that is almost 5 millimeters long. And the way it lays eggs is really horrifying. The wasp impales its prey, usually a spider, the sting paralyzes it, and the wasp lays its eggs inside the prey. When the eggs hatch the prey dies. Thus is life in the animal kingdom…

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