Thieves Steal Air Conditioners Amid Heatwave Across the US

Thieves are coming to people's houses and disconnecting their air conditioner units.

Many of the stolen air conditioners are being resold online. Inside Edition found ads offering savings on the units.

Some thieves are after the copper piping that is found in large central air conditioner units sitting outside millions of homes across the United States.

"It's a quick way to make a buck. Unfortunately, there's a lot of unruly people out there," Michael Iarrapino, president of Edison Heating & Cooling, tells Inside Edition. "Scrap value of copper is about $3.25 a pound so if you fill up a nice 55-gallon drum of copper, you got yourself probably about a thousand bucks."

Iarrapino says there are steps you can take to help stop thieves from taking off with your air conditioner.

"The best way to protect yourself is have good lighting," Iarrapino says.

You can also get an alarm.

When thieves cut lines connected to air conditioning units they release dangerous chemicals into the air, such as two thieves did in Miami when stealing an air conditioner unit from a church.

If captured, the Miami thieves face theft charges and a $25,000 fine by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for releasing coolant into the atmosphere.

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