Thieves in Denver are stealing your expensive Ring doorbells

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. It’s one of the ways we keep the lights on here. Click here for more.

Home security tech is big business. Most of it works by making your home a less attractive target to thieves, who then move elsewhere, but what do you do against the more determined type?

Nothing apparently, as this video recorded of a Ring doorbell being stolen in a Denver suburb shows. The honeybadger-like thief didn’t give a f**k that they were caught on camera.

To further underscore how brazen the thief was, the Denver Channel reports that several other Ring doorbells were stolen that night in the same neighborhood of Congress Park. With it only taking 15 seconds to unscrew the expensive door cam, presumably the spree was cut short by how long it takes to walk between houses.

Unless of course, they stole a Lime scooter to silently glide between targets. They obviously came prepared, as the Ring devices are fastened to the wall with tamper-resistant screws that need a special tool to unscrew easily.

• Knock Knock.
• Who’s there.
• Not your Ring doorbell, yoink!

According to Andrienne Bursey, the victim of the recorded theft, the perp “knew that he was going to be on film and he didn’t care.”

With the Ring doorbell only intended as a first defense mechanism, householders are reminded of the importance of having a secondary system in place.

Denver police have said that they’ve received 20 reports of purloined Ring doorbells this year. Does Denver have a serial dead ringer in its midst?

What should you do if your Ring doorbell is stolen?

In case you’re unlucky enough to have your doorbell swiped instead of pressed, Ring has a theft policy in place that will replace it for free, within 7-10 days. Owners have up to six months to report the theft to Ring, and they’ll get a like-for-like replacement.

Specifically, you need to do the following if someone takes your Ring device:

• Immediately report the theft to the police. Follow police instructions. If you weren’t at home at the time of the theft, don’t go inside – call from a neighbor or from your car.
• Take pictures of the damage but do not touch the scene before the police arrive. You wouldn’t want to disturb any potential evidence like fingerprints or shoe prints.
• Request a copy of the theft report as soon as possible. You’ll need this.
• Once you acquire a police report, report the theft to Ring by using the email address Theft@Ring.com Only respond to replies about the theft that come from that same email address.

According to Ring’s support website, Ring will send a replacement device at no charge in seven to 10 days after verifying the police report.

Do you have a Ring doorbell? Ever worried about it being stolen? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Cracks begin to show in the security of Apple’s App Store
• Another data breach is causing Google to shut down Plus sooner than expected
• Humble Bundle suffered a mild data breach

Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.