CenturyLink (NYSE: LUMN) customers say that a rash of copper thefts in Oregon has played havoc with their internet service. CenturyLink itself has confirmed over 30 separate incidents of stolen copper components in the city of Eugene within the last two weeks, reports KEZI-TV.
“That’s obviously more than one group of people going around stealing copper, and he said they are getting very bold,” said frustrated CenturyLink subscriber Keith Miller. “It used to be they’d do it in the middle of the night… now they’re doing it in the middle of the day.” Miller added that in the short time that he has been home on medical leave, he has experienced two notable internet outages. When questioned, work crews told him it was because of the missing copper.
State laws put in place in 2008 have made making cash off scrap metal a more stringent process, though the copper theft problem persists. Jay Burcham, owner of metal reclamation facility Burcham’s Metal Inc. told KEZI-TV that transactions involving large amounts of metal are documented and scrutinized but admits that it remains an industry-wide problem. However, he added that the state laws have helped to make large-scale metal theft less attractive.
“Something’s got to be done to where they know they’re not going to just be turned back out at night and go steal some more,” noted Miller. “What that answer is I have no idea.”
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