Organized criminal groups are orchestrating brazen heists targeting computer hardware essential for data centers and artificial intelligence development, with thefts totaling over $150 million so far in 2026. These are not opportunistic crimes but rather elaborately planned operations involving international networks that use cybercrime, fake identities, and even staged accidents to steal valuable equipment.
Since June alone, more than $100 million in data center equipment has been stolen in transit, according to NBC News. The stolen goods include servers, memory modules, storage drives, routers, fiber-optic cables, and copper wiring, components that have become increasingly lucrative as demand for AI infrastructure surges.
One particularly audacious theft occurred in July in Reno, Nevada, where thieves allegedly absconded with $38 million worth of cables and cartridges, utilizing drivers equipped with fraudulent licenses. In June, a shipment valued at $13 million in computer server equipment was targeted in California's Mojave Desert. The theft involved a car deliberately crashing into the vehicle escorting the transport truck, allowing the thieves to make off with the cargo. The trailer was later found, but its contents had vanished.
Another incident saw a shipment of server rack components, estimated to be worth $10 million, disappear while traveling from San Jose, California, to a data center project in Texas. In this case, the security team's vehicle was struck in a hit-and-run, and tracking technology reportedly displayed false coordinates to mask the truck's true location.
"It's like stealing pure gold bars," Keith Lewis, head of operations at risk-assessment firm Verisk CargoNet, told NBC News. "It's so much easier to steal this than to rob a bank." He noted that even seemingly unglamorous items like copper wire can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars per trailer.
These heists are often planned long before a truck leaves its origin. Criminals are reportedly breaching the online accounts of freight brokers and transport companies to access confidential shipping schedules, identify high-value loads, and impersonate legitimate carriers. Some gangs allegedly employ AI-generated driver's licenses for identity verification and use GPS spoofing to create the illusion of safe passage.
Investigators suggest that some thefts may involve complicity from drivers, highlighting vulnerabilities in carrier and employee vetting processes. Cargo risk management company Overhaul reported a 34 percent increase in stolen data center equipment, computing components, and semiconductors since 2024. Their analysis indicated that fraud was a factor in 92 percent of high-value technology shipment thefts, surpassing brute force as the primary method.
The stolen technology is not necessarily resold on open markets. Investigators believe that overseas buyers are often pre-arranged, with some stolen equipment suspected of being destined for countries such as China, where U.S. export restrictions apply to certain advanced AI hardware. India, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Colombia, and Moldova have also been linked to suspicious or fraudulent activities related to U.S. cargo theft, according to carrier-verification platform Verified Carrier.
Experts describe the networks behind these thefts as highly organized and strategic, operating more like international businesses than opportunistic groups. Scott Cornell, chair of the Transported Asset Protection Association's Americas division, stated that these groups are "planned, plotted and strategic," adept at exploiting weaknesses throughout the supply chain.
The repercussions of these thefts extend beyond the loss of hardware. Stolen shipments can delay critical data center construction and disrupt multi-million dollar projects. While insurance may cover the value of the stolen equipment, it often does not compensate for indirect losses stemming from missed deadlines or canceled customer contracts. The increasing value of the hardware underpinning the AI revolution means that the cost of securing these shipments is likely to rise as companies vie to protect their investments.