Growing Problem of Copper Tubing and Wiring Being Stolen Begs the Question: Who Are the Thieves Selling This Stuff To?

I was watching the news this morning and saw a story about foreclosed homes being broken into and all the copper wiring and tubing being ripped out of the walls and basement by thieves because of the high price of copper. I've also heard a friend saying that someone dismantled their company's air conditioner and stole all the copper components inside of it, leaving behind a gutted air conditioner. And stories like that are becoming much more common across the country.

Who's buying all of this copper from the thieves?

An honest broker? An ignorant one? One who doesn't ask questions because they don't want to lose the sale?

If someone comes in with hundreds of pounds of copper tubing and wiring, doesn't the buyer have an obligation to keep track of who's selling them the copper, when it arrived, in what form the copper was in, any identifying characteristics on the copper itself? If they're not, they should be.

This problem will only get worse. There's no way to retro-actively mark copper tubing already in houses and air conditioners.

Retailers who have copper materials in their inventory can add identifying marks, but based on my limited experience with copper tubing, I think it would be relatively easy to obscure such markings with a blowtorch or a hammer. Copper isn't a super-strong metal.

Now people don't only have to worry about their house being broken into and their valuables stolen; they have to worry about thieves ruining their homes as well as they rip copper out of the walls and basement.