The Federal Trade Commission announced this week that customers who purchased certain home security cameras from Ring, owned by Amazon, may be eligible for refunds totaling over $5.6 million. This comes as part of a settlement between Ring and the F.T.C. following allegations that the company failed to adequately protect customer accounts.
The lawsuit, filed by the F.T.C. last May, accused Ring of allowing employees and contractors to access customers’ private video footage without consent. The agency also claimed that Ring did not have proper security measures in place, leaving customer accounts vulnerable to hacking. As part of the settlement, Ring paid a sum that would be used for customer refunds, deleted unauthorized videos, and implemented a privacy and security program.
Affected customers, who had certain Ring devices before February 1, 2018, have been notified by the F.T.C. via email. The payments, sent via PayPal, vary depending on the type of device owned and the account duration. Customers have until May 22 to redeem the payment, or it will be returned to the F.T.C.
To verify the authenticity of the payment or request a check instead, customers can contact the refund administrator, Rust Consulting, at 1-833-637-4884 or email info@ring.com. Ring has stated that they had addressed security concerns prior to the lawsuit and disagreed with the F.T.C.’s characterization of their practices.
