Pokemon Card Heists Explode Across North America as Collectibles Soar in Value

Talk about taking “gotta catch ‘em all” a little too seriously.

A recent string of robberies ranging from Chicago to California to Vancouver and beyond have targeted Pokémon trading cards. As a result, it’s becoming abundantly clear that the cards, which were first introduced to the world in 1996, are back in high demand once again.

In New York City, one incident turned particularly dangerous when masked individuals locked over 40 people inside a collectibles store and held them at gunpoint while their accomplices broke into cases and stole cards, along with some cash. The New York Times reported that over $110,000 in merchandise was stolen.

The following month, three people broke into a collectibles store in Anaheim, California. Surveillance cameras in the store showed the suspects smashing open glass cases and taking hundreds of cards in less than 10 minutes. ABC 7 Eyewitness News reported that the thieves stole tens of thousands of dollars worth of Pokémon cards.

At the beginning of April, the Vancouver Police Department reported that they had finally arrested the man suspected of robbing unsuspecting customers of their Pokémon cards in five separate incidents.

“The suspect would arrange to meet sellers in a public place and, instead of buying the cards, would allegedly use bear spray on the victims, steal the cards, and run off,” VPD Staff Sergeant Ryan Campbell said in a Facebook post on April 1.

On Monday, April 20, ABC 7 Chicago reported that burglars made off with over $100,000 worth of Pokémon cards during a smash-and-grab style robbery at Elite Sports Cards in Chicago.

It’s not surprising that Pokémon cards have become such a hot ticket item lately.

They’ve surged in value in recent years, with some posting double-digit percentage increases in value in recent months and others climbing more than 3,000 percent over the past two decades, according to Fortune and market data from TCGplayer.

“I would say, collectively, over the last 12 months, things have gone up anywhere from two to 300 percent,” president of Mast Wealth Management Group Jared Mast told ABC News in an article published on Wednesday, April 22. “The fact that it’s the biggest IP on earth. Like, it’s kind of hard to fight it.”