With the huge demand for EVs growing as owners switch to all-electric alternatives, thieves have been switching their habits to adapt. For quite some time, they have been targeting various parts of ICE vehicles like catalytic converters that contain precious materials. Costing vehicle owners thousands of dollars in damages for what sometimes is only a few hundred dollars in profit.
As more EVs replace these gas vehicles in driveways, the supply of these stealable parts will begin to decrease as you won’t find these parts on EVs. However, that doesn’t stop them from finding other things to dirty their little fingers with.
Now thieves have been targeting charging cables and systems. Walking up to homes who have external charging solutions and taking the cables that run between the charger and the vehicle. They are even breaking into vehicles to grab them there if they are visible.
In some cases, they are doing this for the copper that can be found within the cable. However, many of them are attempting to resell the cables online via various marketplaces like OfferUp, eBay, and Facebook. All thanks to the cost associated with these parts.
This isn’t actually anything new as these thieves have been targeting public charging stations since last year. Stealing the cables from larger charging solutions like Superchargers. Taking huge risks that could easily get them killed. Again, all for the copped within them (can’t exactly sell those online).
Making use of charging systems that don’t have detachable cables (from the charger) will not slow them down as they will simply find a way to rip it off the charger. Again, sometimes all they want is the copper inside, so making sure it is functional afterward isn’t always a goal.
So if you do have an EV or plan to buy one in the future, it may be smart to consider charging inside the garage if possible. Not everyone has access to doing this though so making sure that you have a solid security system is important as well. You may also want to educate your neighbors about the current trends so they can also keep an eye out.
It’s unfortunate that we have to protect ourselves this way. It’s also too bad that we cannot rig our chargers to shock thieves who try to remove or damage them. We are a very complicated species.
