Maysville police said there has been an increase in the theft of catalytic converters recently.
According to Maysville Police Department Lt. Chris Conley, catalytic converters are being sawed off vehicles in locations where there are large numbers of vehicles such as businesses and parking lots.
“There are probably many people involved, we had this happen years ago where people were stealing converters and it appears based on talking to local scrap dealers that the theft is happening because the price of converters has gone up,” said Conley.
Conley advised that vehicles most likely targeted are those that have a higher ground clearance such as trucks, SUVs or Jeeps.
“Trucks and vehicles high off the ground are easier for them to slide under and cut off the converters, also foreign vehicles like Toyota or Honda may be targeted for the higher value or possessing multiple converters,” said Conley.
Conley said if drivers are able then it would be best to store vehicles in a garage until thefts have slowed down.
“We are working very hard to figure out who is buying the converters; somebody is buying them and normally they need a proof or bill of sale, at least that is the way it should be done. But somebody is taking them without that proof which is wrong and once we find out who it is they will most likely be charged,” said Conley.
Conley said the age of the vehicles does not seem to matter in regards to potential converter theft, that the different pieces that make up a converter are valuable.
According to Conley, there is also a rise in unemployment fraud.
“We have actually reached out to the attorney general’s office and they are investigating, this is widespread fraud across all of Kentucky,” said Conley.
Conley said some people have reported that their employers received notification from the unemployment office that they have applied for benefits when in fact they are still working and never applied.
“If somebody is a victim of this one, they need to report it to a law enforcement agency and they can also get a credit monitoring service,” said Conley.
Conley advised that if anybody would like to report fraud or needs more information to visit https://kcc.ky.gov/career/Pages/UI%20Fraud.aspx.
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