Honda Airbag thefts are up in South Florida after a series of recent car break-ins, according to an article by Local 10 News.
These time, thieves are striking heavily in Miami-Dade County, where owners of Honda models such as the Civic are waking up to their cars broken into and the main driver airbag cut out of the steering wheel, according to the article.
About 50,000 airbags are stolen every year and sold on the black market for hundreds of dollars, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Miami-Dade County is considered a hot spot for the crime.
In January of 2018, Local 10 News reported an uptick in break-ins in Broward County, where airbags were ripped out of the steering wheels. Most of the vehicles targeted are Honda Civics. The burglars are cutting open the steering wheel to extract the airbag, according to the article.
Detectives say the thieves are reselling them on the black market to collision repair shops that are charging insurers and car owners the full price. Authorities do know that the thefts are linked to rampant fraud, according to the article. While an airbag could cost between $1,000 to $3,000 with labor cost, the thieves are selling them on eBay, Amazon and other sites for about $200 to $300, according to the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center.
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