Shawn-XBA
02-12-2007, 07:04 PM
Police were forced to wait to obtain a court order allowing them to collect details from Microsoft about a man who had stolen an XBOX 360 and subsequently called Microsoft up to request a free power cord (he left his at the crime scene).
Microsoft had the man’s name, address and phone number but refused to provide Police with said details until they obtained a court-issued search warrant which took nearly two additional weeks from the date of the robbery.
The victim of the burglary was both confused and annoyed at Microsoft’s lack of action:
"This will happen again if they don't change their ways," he said. "They knew it was stolen, and they just did nothing."
It was when the victim called Microsoft to report the theft that he was told the machine had already been registered, unhappy with this the victim proceeded to complain to the police instead.
Microsoft’s New Zealand project manager Thomas Hunt wished to make it clear that rather than trying to be obstructive he was merely concerned about the privacy and safety of customer information. Although he admitted it was a criminal matter, Microsoft’s international policy requires a court order before details can be released.
"We genuinely would like to help as much as possible," he said.
Detective Sergeant Martin Todd explained that Microsoft were acting well within their rights and the police were required to obtain a court-order before taking action.
"Microsoft haven't been obstructive in any way,"
The thief in question has now been arrested and is in the process of being charged, aged 14 he also admitted to two other thefts in the local area. Whilst the situation may seem odd, New Zealand’s Privacy Act requires companies to protect private information "unless it's required in order to avoid prejudice to the maintenance of the law".
Link (http://www.gwn.com/news/story.php/id/11184/title/Man_Steals_Xbox_360_Rings_MS_To_Register_It.html)
What a stupid kid, if you steal electronics with a serial # on it don't call to have it registered or to ask for a power cord, you may actually get caught
Microsoft had the man’s name, address and phone number but refused to provide Police with said details until they obtained a court-issued search warrant which took nearly two additional weeks from the date of the robbery.
The victim of the burglary was both confused and annoyed at Microsoft’s lack of action:
"This will happen again if they don't change their ways," he said. "They knew it was stolen, and they just did nothing."
It was when the victim called Microsoft to report the theft that he was told the machine had already been registered, unhappy with this the victim proceeded to complain to the police instead.
Microsoft’s New Zealand project manager Thomas Hunt wished to make it clear that rather than trying to be obstructive he was merely concerned about the privacy and safety of customer information. Although he admitted it was a criminal matter, Microsoft’s international policy requires a court order before details can be released.
"We genuinely would like to help as much as possible," he said.
Detective Sergeant Martin Todd explained that Microsoft were acting well within their rights and the police were required to obtain a court-order before taking action.
"Microsoft haven't been obstructive in any way,"
The thief in question has now been arrested and is in the process of being charged, aged 14 he also admitted to two other thefts in the local area. Whilst the situation may seem odd, New Zealand’s Privacy Act requires companies to protect private information "unless it's required in order to avoid prejudice to the maintenance of the law".
Link (http://www.gwn.com/news/story.php/id/11184/title/Man_Steals_Xbox_360_Rings_MS_To_Register_It.html)
What a stupid kid, if you steal electronics with a serial # on it don't call to have it registered or to ask for a power cord, you may actually get caught