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Verizon posts WANTED poster for copper rustlers

Them varmints is putting innocent lives in danger …

Verizon is sick of having to refresh its copper network merely to replace stolen metal, and for the forth time since 2013 has posted a reward for information leading to arrests.

The broadband brigands aren't fooling around, either. In the latest incidents more than 10,000 feet of copper were heisted by thieves, leading to the offer of a US$10,000 reward.

The thefts have taken place in Southern California, with more than a dozen incidents in San Bernadino and Riverside counties, the company's "WANTED" poster announcement says.

“The thefts have put public safety at risk for hundreds of customers and have caused unnecessary telephone and Internet service outages,” the company added.

According to Fierce Telecom, Verizon's is plagued by wire-stripping in a number of US states, including Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. In each of those cases, the company has offered rewards of between $5,000 and $10,000.

AT&T, FairPoint, Frontier and Windstream have suffered similar incidents. In FairPoint's case, three men were arrested for making off with hundreds of feet of cable, according to local reports. ®

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