A nationwide surge in catalytic converter thefts during the pandemic has been costly to consumers and prompted some dealers to beef up overnight security on their lots. One frustrated used-car purveyor even spent his 67th birthday hiding inside a car to run surveillance.
Masoud Bayati has already had more than 40 catalytic converters cut out from beneath cars at M&B Auto Sales in Jackson, Miss. On July 9, Bayati used his gun to scare away someone trying to break into the lot, the Clarion Ledger reported.
Reports of catalytic converter thefts have skyrocketed as the value of the precious metals inside them has soared. The National Insurance Crime Bureau said there were about 108 thefts a month in 2018, 282 a month in 2019 and 1,203 a month in 2020. More than 2,347 incidents were reported in December 2020 alone, and USA Today reported that nearly 26,000 of the parts were stolen from January through May 2021, a rate of more than 5,000 a month.
A Chicago woman who parks her 2004 Honda CR-V on the street told the newspaper that her catalytic converter has been stolen twice during the pandemic.
Each theft can cost the vehicle owner hundreds or thousands of dollars to repair. The thieves can often get $50 to $250 from metal recyclers for the stolen parts and several times more for a catalytic converter from a hybrid vehicle such as the Toyota Prius, CBS News reported. The parts can usually be cut out from under a vehicle in only a few minutes.
Thieves got 18 catalytic converters in one night from new Mitsubishi Outlanders at a dealership in La Porte, Texas, last month.
In Maryville, Tenn., Dotson Memorial Baptist Church has had its vans targeted twice recently.
“The first time they hit two of the vans, we don’t know why they didn’t hit the third, and the second time they got two more,” one of the pastors, Sean Wentley, told WATE-TV. “When you steal something, especially from a church, you’re really stealing from God.”