Thieves turned to a high-tech device to steal $25,000 worth of sports cards and memorabilia from a business in west suburban Medinah, Illinois.<\/p>\n
They broke into the store seamlessly \u2014 leaving the owner with little evidence to show police.<\/p>\n
Off the tracks of the Medinah Metra stop is Off the Rails Relics & Sports Cards, at 78-N-02 Medinah Rd. Alex Tuider has put his life into the business over the last two years.<\/p>\n
“It’s my livelihood,” he said.<\/p>\n
Off the Rails has become a place for the community. Tuider hosts trade nights for anyone interested in the sports card hobby.<\/p>\n
But last week, Off the Rails went off the map.<\/p>\n
Tuider walked into his business this past Friday morning to find thieves had used a crowbar to break down the front door and steal $25,000 worth of cards.<\/p>\n
“The reason why this is a gut punch, though, is like, I do no online sales,” said Tuider. “Everything is through the shop.”<\/p>\n
Tuider said there are no pictures or video of the thieves because they used a jammer to turn off the security camera and Wi-Fi in the store \u2014 a situation any business or homeowner could be in. <\/p>\n
“I know there’s capabilities out there that can disrupt the system and temporarily shut down the system,” said Rich Guidice of Blue Star Security.<\/p>\n
Guidice, the former executive director of the Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications, said the jammer devices are a new way of doing business for thieves.<\/p>\n
How they work is they interfere and block Wi-Fi signals, which may have disabled the security cameras in Tuider’s case \u2014 since his security app did not pick up the footage.<\/p>\n
The jammers cost hundreds of dollars, and are illegal under the Federal Communications Commission.<\/p>\n
“The backup to that would be to get a hard line installed as well,” said Guidice, “so if your Wi-Fi system goes down, then you have it backed up by hard line.”<\/p>\n
Tuider cleaned out and closed up his shop this this past weekend, since he said the thieves could just break in again.<\/p>\n
“These past two years, I’ve been busting my butt to achieve this dream \u2014 truly just for someone to come along and put me in this nightmare,” he said.<\/p>\n
But Tuider said he plans to open up another brick-and-mortar store somewhere else \u2014 because he does not want be out of the game yet.<\/p>\n
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