Heavy Equipment Theft Booming

The National Equipment Register, as it does every Thanksgiving, warned that the holiday was a good time for construction equipment owners to be on the alert for theft attempts, which have been on the rise.

It said that Monday in Miami, the 30th incident of a backhoe theft in southern Florida was reported this year.

NER said heavy equipment theft is becoming more organized, more focused, and more prolific.

It urged officers, investigators and equipment industry professionals to take steps now to have an impact on reversing the trends.

The major trends, NER spotlighted:

o Conversion Thefts- reports of thefts by fraud against large and small rental companies are on the rise across the country. Other than the increase in this type of theft, NER said there is no pattern to how it is committed. Some perpetrators use false identification and sophisticated fake credit documents while others simply rent equipment and disappear.

Rental companies were warned to check individuals with no prior rental history or local business ties and be alert for the well-worn scam of individuals pretending to work for a large company.

Firms were advised to take extra steps to verify identity, and communicate with large companies about their rental authorization policies. When machines are rented, they were counseled to take action that will help retrieve the machine or locate the customer should the rental go bad.

Law enforcement was encouraged to verify the status of any rented machine with National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) and the renting company. NER said its database can be accessed through NICB 24 hours a day, and all member rental companies list emergency after hours' contacts who can verify a machines status.

o A growing trend in Georgia, said NER, is the theft of Tracked Skid Steers or Compact Tracked Loaders, particularly Takeuchi machines.

o Utility Carts/Vehicles–more John Deere Gators, Bobcat Toolcats and Kubota RTV-900's were stolen than tractors or backhoes this month. The popularity of these machines in the market is mirrored by their appeal to thieves, NER reported.

Owners and rental companies, NER said, should implement physical security measures to prevent the unauthorized use of machines, as often the theft is opportunistic. Dealers were advised to take proactive measures to protect machines on display and in storage by immobilizing them, blocking them with larger machines, or better yet, storing them inside at night.

Law Enforcement members who encounter machines should verify their status with an owner if NCIC returns no hit for theft. NER said it has encountered many thefts recorded as simple burglaries with no machine PIN/Serials Numbers entered on NCIC.

o Older Machines–Western States, NER said, are reporting a rise in older machine thefts. It's possible, that these may include insurance scams but also may point to a criminal element burned in the past by newer machines equipped with satellite tracking devices and targeting perfectly good older machines, said NER, which will less likely be GPS enabled.

Older machine owners in the 4 Corners States and Nevada should not assume their equipment is less vulnerable due to its age, NER warned.

o Top Four States–Georgia and Texas tied for most thefts, followed by California and Florida.

More detail about how to stop theft is online at http://www.stopequipmenttheft.com/NER_Thanksgiving_Advisory_and_Hotlist.pdf