Scrap metal thieves catalytic converters

[tod evans]

From Drudge.

At $100.00 a pop for each converter the cost of a cordless sawzall is quickly amortized netting healthy profits for motivated thieves..


Catalytic converter thefts on the rise

http://www.myfoxny.com/story/22560380/catalytic-converter-thefts-on-the-rise

Police in one New Jersey city are warning about a rise in catalytic converter thefts in vehicles at train stations, schools and other areas.

In the past week, there were two daylight thefts of catalytic converters from vehicles, one which was parked at the Linden train station and one which was parked at a private company on the 1900 block of Lower Road.

Linden police say this was in addition to 16 converters, taken from trucks parked at the Linden U-Haul, 1440 E. Edgar Rd. and two, which were taken from vehicles in the parking lots of McManus Middle School and Linden High School.

The thieves are targeting larger vehicles, especially SUVs like the Jeep Cherokee. Police say that's because the converters are larger and contain more platinum, which is currently valued on the open market at approximately $1,500 per ounce. They are also easier to crawl under to get to the converters.

The crooks are using small battery-powered saws and can cut the converter off in a matter of minutes.

Police say that scrap yards will pay up to $100 for a cut-off converter, but the victim could spend $1,000 to replace it.

Many victims don't even realize that they've been victimized until they start their car, and hear a roar coming from under of the vehicle.

Police say that there is not much that can be done for prevention, but it is recommended that drivers park in a lot with video surveillance cameras which may act as a deterrent.

[kcchiefs6465]

Been going on for years in the city.

That's why they started requiring an ID to turn in anything. Even a bag of cans.

They're ripping siding off houses. The whole side of the house will be gone.

I'd be glad to live in the country. If it isn't nailed down in the city, I wouldn't be surprised if it grew legs.

[tod evans]

My keys haven't been out of the ignitions in years....

Different life eh?

[CPUd]

If they can get in your car, they will go for the airbags on certain models as well. The shady body shops buy them when the owner wants to hide a collision.

[HOLLYWOOD]

Everything is being stripped across the US... Copper, Aluminum, Bronze/Brass

The "Booming Economy' for Wall Street and Washington DC... not so much for Main Street, eh?

Like 'Ducks In A Row' moron America continues to believe the Empire of Lies

[oyarde]

About two years ago an auto shop in Indianapolis started installing a steel cage around converters for customers for about $400.

[oyarde]

Been going on for years in the city.

That's why they started requiring an ID to turn in anything. Even a bag of cans.

They're ripping siding off houses. The whole side of the house will be gone.

I'd be glad to live in the country. If it isn't nailed down in the city, I wouldn't be surprised if it grew legs. I still just give my last name @ my local scrap yard, but I am sure everyone is on camera.In my area , in the towns there were problems with stolen man hole covers , air conditioning metals stolen from empty homes , businesses closed on weekends, converters sawed off etc

[oyarde]

I have been getting 55 cents a pound for cans and around $10 for old auto batteries.I finally have my place cleaned up :), lol, no more dead batteries laying around , they were all converted to beer , ammo & silver.

[donnay]

Been going on for years in the city.

That's why they started requiring an ID to turn in anything. Even a bag of cans.

They're ripping siding off houses. The whole side of the house will be gone.

I'd be glad to live in the country. If it isn't nailed down in the city, I wouldn't be surprised if it grew legs.


In Texas you have to show ID and give them your fingerprints. They use the excuse that junkies steal these things for the next fix. :rolleyes:

[kcchiefs6465]

About two years ago an auto shop in Indianapolis started installing a steel cage around converters for customers for about $400.
That's a good idea.


I still just give my last name @ my local scrap yard, but I am sure everyone is on camera.In my area , in the towns there were problems with stolen man hole covers , air coditioning metals stolen from empty homes , businesses closed on weekends, converters sawed off etc
They've scanned my ID and have seen me enough to know my name. I do the same most times. There was a place that got shut down for not taking IDs. (them taking in a bunch of stolen metal probably had something to do with it as well) They have houses that sell from 5,000-10,000 but they are completed gutted. It was a real big problem.

[kcchiefs6465]

In Texas you have to show ID and give them your fingerprints. They use the excuse that junkies steal these things for the next fix. :rolleyes:
If it's over like 500 dollars worth of metal I think you do out here too. They have people stealing titanium bars and things though. Or people offloading thousands of dollars of copper. More often than not, the stuff was stolen from a factory somewhere.

[donnay]

If it's over like 500 dollars worth of metal I think you do out here too. They have people stealing titanium bars and things though. Or people offloading thousands of dollars of copper. More often than not, the stuff was stolen from a factory somewhere.

In Texas it is for less than $100.00 you have to give them your fingerprints. It is totally ridiculous. I had a picnic table out for garbage pick-up, that had metal that attached the wood to seats, within 10 minutes I had a guy in a pick-up trucking taking it. These guys, for the most part, go around doing this day after day and make money. It is a lucrative business.

[oyarde]

In Texas it is for less than $100.00 you have to give them your fingerprints. It is totally ridiculous. I had a picnic table out for garbage pick-up, that had metal that attached the wood to seats, within 10 minutes I had a guy in a pick-up trucking taking it. These guys, for the most part, go around doing this day after day and make money. It is a lucrative business.

I never figured out how they cover gas and make anything ?

[kcchiefs6465]

I never figured out how they cover gas and make anything ?
Alleys. Sometimes you make good money, sometimes you waste gas. I was making 75-150 dollars a day and paid no taxes. (that I was aware of anyways) Maybe spent 10-15 in gas. This was back when at a temp job that paid you daily you would make 70 bucks for a very hard days work. After taxes and paying money to cash the check you were down to about 58.

It wasn't bad. Most people are happy you showed up. It got up to 13 cents a pound on sheet. 15 cents on heavy. It adds up quick. One washing machine was paying 25-30 bucks. If you kept the head off of it you could sell the parts to an appliance store. We started fixing up all kinds of old lawnmowers and washing machines and selling them ourselves. Stress free work, pretty much. All depends on how good your eyes are and if you know where to look.

[kcchiefs6465]

In Texas it is for less than $100.00 you have to give them your fingerprints. It is totally ridiculous. I had a picnic table out for garbage pick-up, that had metal that attached the wood to seats, within 10 minutes I had a guy in a pick-up trucking taking it. These guys, for the most part, go around doing this day after day and make money. It is a lucrative business.
If I had a truck out here I'd easily be making 150-200 bucks a day for 3-4 hours work. Back in XX, everyone is scrapping. Scrap metal doesn't sit out for long.

[Zippyjuan]

Been happening for years. Air bags were targets too. Ask State Farm Insurance.

http://www.statefarm.com/about/media/backgrounder/theft.asp


New target air bags

Thieves have long targeted specific car parts such as radios and wheel covers, but in recent years they've developed a black market for an increasingly prominent safety device -- the air bag. Whenever an air bag deploys in a crash, it must be replaced. A thief can steal an air bag and sell it at a low price -- say, $200 -- to an unethical repair-shop owner, who then charges the customer the standard price for a replacement bag - maybe $1,000 or more - and makes a sizable profit. The NICB® estimates 50,000 air bags valued at about $50 million are stolen each year. State Farm estimates that when all cars have air bags, theft of the devices could cost insurance companies and their customers between $127 million and $253 million a year. State Farm is working with automakers and air bag suppliers to find solutions to the theft problem.


http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/01/airbag-thefts-increase-in-d-c-area-84162.html


Experts say if your car is parked on the street, it's fair games for thieves. They typically target popular models like Nissans and Hondas where demand is high.

Car theft expert Tom Reich says last week in Laurel, 17 airbags were stolen at one apartment complex and another three in a Silver Spring neighborhood.

"Just like any other type of crime it goes in a cycle," Reich says. "Right now there's an upsurge in the thefts."

Sold on websites like ebay and Craiglist, and to some unscrupulous repair shops in the area, stolen airbags are an easy way to make fast cash, Reich says.

"There's no overhead," he says. "You turn around and sell it to individual for $150. He goes around and makes $800 dollars on a particular airbag.

The National Insurance Crime Bureau estimates 60,000 airbags are ripped out of cars annually, costing an estimated $50 million.

Experts warn if you're getting a new airbag installed, make sure it's new and legitimate.


Read more: http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/01/airbag-thefts-increase-in-d-c-area-84162.html#ixzz2W1wn7uG0

[CPUd]

One time a guy came by in a truck; he wanted to sell a lawnmower for $15. I told him I wasn't in the market and he immediately dropped his price to $5.

[69360]

I never figured out how they cover gas and make anything ?

Don't kid yourself there is a lot of money in scrapping. There is practically no overhead. All you need is a $500 beater truck. No business license, no insurance, no taxes. Scrap yards pay cash and you can make a couple hundred a day, so spending $50 on gas is not a big expense.

If you pull in two good loads a day that's $300 a day cash, over $70,000 a year tax free.

[kcchiefs6465]

Don't kid yourself there is a lot of money in scrapping. There is practically no overhead. All you need is a $500 beater truck. No business license, no insurance, no taxes. Scrap yards pay cash and you can make a couple hundred a day, so spending $50 on gas is not a big expense.

If you pull in two good loads a day that's $300 a day cash, over $70,000 a year tax free.
Depending on where you are at 300 dollars a day is a bit much. You'd need one other person with you too. Out here I could see it. There is so much construction and renovation going on it is unreal. Roll offs all over. They throw out brass, wire, sheet, copper, all kind of stuff. Air conditioners too - the industrial sized ones. Just driving through apartment complexes you'd make a killing.

Just have to know what to look for.

[donnay]

Don't kid yourself there is a lot of money in scrapping. There is practically no overhead. All you need is a $500 beater truck. No business license, no insurance, no taxes. Scrap yards pay cash and you can make a couple hundred a day, so spending $50 on gas is not a big expense.

If you pull in two good loads a day that's $300 a day cash, over $70,000 a year tax free.

It's clear in Texas you wouldn't have that right since you have to supply them your ID and fingerprints--which is given to a central database. Of course the excuse they use is that they get this information on you because so many junkies get scrap metals to get their daily fix. :rolleyes: I sat there at the scrap metal yard watching people voluntarily handing over that information so freely it bothered me immensely. Luckily for me, a neighbor who has no issues with complying told me he would give them that information--he had nothing to hide. :rolleyes:

[69360]

It's clear in Texas you wouldn't have that right since you have to supply them your ID and fingerprints--which is given to a central database. Of course the excuse they use is that they get this information on you because so many junkies get scrap metals to get their daily fix. :rolleyes: I sat there at the scrap metal yard watching people voluntarily handing over that information so freely it bothered me immensely. Luckily for me, a neighbor who has no issues with complying told me he would give them that information--he had nothing to hide. :rolleyes:


I gave them ID and so did my buddy. All they did was read it and enter first and last name into a computer, it wasn't scanned and no other info was recorded. I've never been asked for fingerprints and probably wouldn't give them. We turned in thousands a year and no tax problems. I suspect they are not using the ID for tax reasons, yet.