A surge in copper thefts in the Phoenix area has some on alert

PHOENIX - Copper is a hot commodity and a big target for thieves, and the telecom industry is worried about a recent surge in thefts across the Phoenix area.

It's a familiar scheme – thieves posing as crews to steal copper. That's according to Dan Chason with Lumen Technologies and CenturyLink.

"They would take a magnetic sign, stick the name, you know, 'Joe's Cable Service' on the side of it, and they put a cone in the yard, a hard hat on, and an orange vest, and they go out and steal our copper. They're doing it in someone's yard. They're being seen doing it, but nobody's calling anybody, because they assume it's a contractor for one of our companies, and it's not," Chason said.

Pictures capture a box being stripped of wires, costing the company thousands of dollars.

It also impacts the customer.

"It can affect TV, phone, internet. It can affect it all," he said.

Chason says each box contains very little copper, so when thefts happen, they hit a lot of spots. They've had 24 thefts in the last 40 days.

He says if you see a truck that looks a little off, call the police to check it out.

"It's just it's a vicious cycle," Chason said. "Eventually it's going to cost someone their life because they cannot access services that they depend on, whether it be fire, ambulance, hospital, police, just normal, everyday life."

According to law enforcement, thieves are getting more creative by using a fake logo on trucks to look more legit.