It's a crime that only takes a matter of seconds and costs truck owners big money: tailgate thefts.
On Wednesday, Carrollton Police reported a rash of tailgate thefts overnight with at least nine residents filing reports.
One of them, Allen Budd, opened his garage to go to work Wednesday morning only to find the tailgate completely missing without a trace from his red Ford F-150.
"I go, 'That doesn't look right,'" said Budd.
After the CPD released a warning to residents on social media, several people in neighboring Lewisville came forward saying that the Castle Hill neighborhood had been targeted just the week before.
Last Monday, at least five residents took to neighborhood social media saying their tailgates had been stolen.
One neighbor caught two thieves on surveillance camera, who, in a matter of about 15 seconds, lifted the tailgate off a truck parked on the street and drove away from the scene.
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Carrollton Police representative Jolene DeVito said most, if not all, of the trucks hit have been Ford F-150s.
Police said the thieves often turn the tailgates around and sell them on the internet, where they can be very hard to trace to owners.
"Most of them do not have a VIN etched on the tailgate, so when it's gone, it's gone, and it's hard to identify that it's yours," said DeVito.
Police recommend parking your truck with the bed facing close to a garage or wall to make it tougher to open, also locking the tailgate and etching your VIN into it just in case in would be taken.
If stolen, that could make the tailgate a little easier to trace.
Several companies like Watchdog Tailgate Lock in Carrollton also offer solutions to secure tailgates better, and some owners even recommend using a hose clamp to make it more difficult to remove.
Police ask anyone with information in the tailgate thefts to contact them right away.
