Ah, good old Bobby Tables.
Great username.
Love that comic. Should be posted in every programmer’s cubicle around the world.
Similarly - our Echo sits next to an answering machine (yes we still have one of those), so I was curious whether I could call home, have the answering machine pick up, and issue commands to the Echo. Result: Yes, but not reliably.
This means other people could call us and command the Echo to do stuff. Could be a problem if I connected it to home automation equipment. Right now the worst it could do is order stuff off Amazon.
Which is already plenty bad. Unethical person puts some silly little trinket on sale on Amazon for a thousand dollars. Person calls you, has your Echo buy it. You get charged a grand, and end up with nothing to show for it but the trinket.
Alternately: Unethical person finds some genuinely-valuable item already for sale on Amazon. Person calls you, has your Echo buy it. Person is expecting the package to be delivered to you, but you’re not, so person has a good opportunity to steal it off your porch without you ever being the wiser.