The thieves may ship the stolen components out of the country, often to Asia, and then ship them back to the United States with new documentation and a new identity. It is difficult to pinpoint a precise annual high tech theft loss figure. According to the San Jose, California, Police Dept., in Silicon Valley alone, millions of dollars in valuable components are lost annually. The average high tech theft costs the victimized company almost half a million dollars according to the FBI's Computer Crimes Division. Although the most visible of these losses result from robberies perpetrated by organized, armed vandals, more than half of all high-value component thefts are employee related, according to a survey by the American Society of Industrial Security.
Small companies are extremely vulnerable because of their limited resources to guard against theft.
Thanks to the successful efforts of industry and law enforcement agencies this type of theft is on the decline. But thieves have turned to other methods. Newest of these is the armed highjacking of trucks and trailers delivering components to customers. One version involves a trailer or its contents being stolen from an airport storage facility or when the driver stops for a meal. The theft of finished personal computers is also becoming a problem.