Quote:
Originally Posted by pilotbob
Myth:
If I give someone my Kindle they can buy all sorts of stuff without my permission and I will have to pay a huge credit card bill for the stuff they bought.
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Yeah, let's tackle that one.
Truth:
It is very difficult for a thief (because your friends wouldn't do that to you) to do much if any damage to your credit card just because they have your Kindle in their dirty little hands (stupid thieves). I've never lost or had a Kindle stolen but it's not too difficult to think through once you understand how the system works.
The only thing the thief can buy is books (are there well read thieves) and it's pretty easy to stop them and get your money back (if books are purchased from Amazon).
For those not familiar here is how purchasing books for the Kindle works.
- You choose your book, buy it and download it (via Whispernet or computer)
- Your credit card or gift card is charged via 1-Click.
- For each and every book purchased an email is sent to the email account you have on record with Amazon. This happens within seconds.
Now, a thief steals your Kindle and decides he/she wants to download the latest best sellers. They can't buy them via computer because they don't have the password to your account, so they turn on the Whispernet and surf on over to the Kindle store which is *always* signed in to your Kindle account (not the general Amazon store front). Every book they "buy" and download causes an email to be sent to you and you realize your Kindle is missing because you didn't buy those books. You contact Amazon and say "My Kindle has been stolen and thief made book purchases, please refund my money, remove the books from the Kindle then deregister it". You also make sure to turn off the 1-Click setting for the Kindle. The thief can no longer buy books from Amazon and if they turn the Whispernet on again, those books will be gone.
The frustrated thief decides to use the Kindle browser to surf over the main Amazon store front but they can't sign in because the don't know your Amazon screen name (if different from your Kindle's name... mine is different) or password.
Of course, if you have personal documents on your Kindle that might contain information allowing the thief easier access (credit card numbers, passwords...) you might have a different outcome.
The Kindle will still be usable at other sites but the thief is going to have to use his/her own credit info or that stolen from someone else. They can also re-register the Kindle under their own or assumed name (yeah, I don't like it either).