A leading cyber security expert has warned parents that private conversations among parents could accidentally order a present via an eavesdropping digital assistant. He suggested that merely discussing Christmas ideas in front of Alexa or Google Assistant, for example, could cause an unintentional order. The ready-to-please devices have been known to take personal conversations as commands and act upon them without the owners' knowledge. Matt Horan, of C3IA solutions, said that the systems are taking personal conversations as commands and acting upon them without the owners' knowledge. Users with Amazon and Google Home accounts have their payment details already saved and could find the smart devices have automatically ordered a Christmas present without them realising.

Using the device's voice command assistant, which is called Alexa, a six-year-old girl in Dallas, Texas, managed to order a $160 (£130) doll house and a tin of biscuits. That sparked a news report on CW6 in San Diego, California, after which presenter Jim Patton said: "I love the little girl saying'Alexa order me a doll house'." According to the TV station, the broadcast on Thursday sparked complaints from "viewers all over San Diego" who said Mr Patton's words had been interpreted by their Amazon Echo devices as a command to buy more doll houses. Amazon has said any "accidental" purchases can be returned for free. Users have also been advised a four-digit security code can be added to the Echo to stop unauthorised orders.