AT&T Hunts Copper Wire Thieves in Dallas

0:00It's April 8th. Welcome to Dallas News Today, powered by AI, I'm Cory with the story. AT&T is on the hunt for copper wire thieves hitting Southeast Dallas hard this year. They reported 20 incidents since mid-February, mostly around Seagullville, Balch Springs, and Mesquite off sea of Han freeway. These crooks strike between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m., slicing overhead telecom cables and rating metal boxes for the valuable copper inside. The thefts keep coming back to the same spots, with thieves pulling cables from the ground or chopping them down. They burn off the plastic coating and hidden lots to strip pure copper, then cash it in at recycling centers. Fiber optic lines get damaged too, messing with everyday connections. Folks are feeling the heat homes, lose internet, businesses go dark, city buildings, and even cell towers cut out. Worst part, emergency services take hits, leaving people vulnerable. AT&T dropped public service announcements to wake everyone up to the problem.

1:00They shared picks from a February 11th hit on University Hills Boulevard, where about 150 feet of cable vanished around 4 a.m., including a suspect truck. Now they're offering a $10,000 reward for tips leading to arrests and convictions. If you spot anything shady or know these repeat offenders, hit up AT&T. They need eyes on the street to shut this down, before more lines go dark.