FALLENTIMBER, Pa. (WTAJ) — Residents in some parts of Cambria County may be experiencing internet outages due to their lines being cut.
Local service providers said it’s becoming a major problem and one that’s possibly dangerous to both homeowners and the ones committing the crime.
Copper theft is on the rise and one of the latest sources thieves are tapping into is internet lines. Dave Faggard, a spokesperson with Kinetic by Windstream, the service provider impacted by the recent line cuts near Fallentimber, said this isn’t an isolated incident.
“Unfortunately, copper theft is becoming more and more of a nationwide problem. We’re seeing throughout many of the states in our 18 state footprint that criminals are turning to stealing copper. Likely because there are less checks and balances in place with recycling yards as well as the price of copper continues to rise,” Faggard said.
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Police and internal security for Kinetic have launched an investigation to determine who keeps cutting the service lines in Fallentimber. Those investigating suggested the multiple incidents of the service lines being cut could have all been carried out by the same person. Each time the lines are cut, residents are disconnected, costing the company a lot of time and money to fix.
“Each one of these individual multi-colored copper cables has to be spliced together with another multicolored cable,” Faggard said.
Stealing copper can lead to misdemeanor or felony charges, possibly landing the thief in jail and strapped with some hefty fines. But Faggard said the real cost of cutting internet and phone lines to steal the copper could be someone’s life.
“So not only is the thief putting strangers and neighbors at risk of not being able to reach emergency responders on 911 should a need arise, thieves often put themselves in mortal danger. Often these copper lines are on utility poles where high energized electric lines run,” Faggard said.
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Kinetic is offering a $10,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest and prosecution of anyone cutting their lines. Tips can be provided by calling 1-855-268-2211 and selecting Option 1.
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