KANSAS CITY, Mo. —

According to AT&T, Missouri is a hotbed for copper wire thefts.

Data from the telecommunications giant shows Missouri is the third-worst state in the country for copper wire thefts. Advertisement

"They're climbing telephone poles or using an apparatus to get the wire down from the telephone pole and cut it," said Derek Tolliver, the Lead Investigator of Global Security at AT&T. "And from there, they'll burn it up and take it to your local recycling center."

AT&T provided security video of copper wire thieves in action across Missouri. The videos show thieves cutting telephone wires, climbing telephone poles, or dragging copper wire away from job sites.

Tolliver said the thieves will even climb into manholes to steal copper wire below ground. The copper wire transmi

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