In an uncharacteristically early stab at my Christmas shopping in September, I spent £24.99 on a Furby Connect toy from Argos for my nine-year old grand-daughter, unaware it is one of several such “intelligent” dolls that have been the subject of security concerns.
There seems to be mounting evidence that strangers can hack into them and talk to children playing with them. I find this deeply worrying and am not sure what to do. There has not been a product recall and Argos staff reassured me my worries were unfounded. SB, London N12
Tests by consumer organisation Which?, with German consumer group Stiftung Warentest and other security research experts in November, revealed flaws in Bluetooth and wifi-enabled toys that could allow a stranger to talk to a child. Security failures were discovered in the Furby Connect (made by Hasbro), i-Que Intelligent Robot, Toy-Fi Teddy and CloudPets. This was followed by a strong warning from the government’s privacy watchdog, the information commissioner’s office, advising parents to turn off the cameras and automatic tracking in such presents.
In terms of returning the item, you are unfortunately no longer covered by Argos’s 30–day money–back guarantee, but we urged the firm to show concerned customers like you special consideration.
Argos says it had not received any other complaints. It tells us: “Although we try to be as flexible as possible, we would generally not accept returns after the 30-day cut-off period.” However, it has offered to get in contact to explain its policy so it might still extend the hand of generosity your way.
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