Shameless Car Thieves

The other day I received quite an odd security notice from the company. Apparently car thieves have been working our parking lots on our campus. The surprising thing is that they're after catalytic converters, which are used for emission controls. These converters are valuable because they contain precious metals such as platinum.

So this is how the hit goes down. Some dude enters our parking lot with a backpack, and he looks for SUVs because there's enough room for him to sneak under the vehicle. He then goes under the vehicle and goes to work, cutting out the catalytic converter with an electric saw. Once the converter is out, he slips it in his bag, and discretely leaves the parking lot. Apparently there's been four of these incidents in the past, and it's quite an unpleasant thing to discover if you're the car owner.

To get it fixed, you need a new catalytic converter, and a new tail pipe. You're probably looking at a $600-$800 trip to the car mechanic.

Anyway, this is the first I've ever heard of such crimes. I continue to be astounded.