Back in June, we told you about the uptick in Sunday newspaper thefts in Boise, ID, from thrifty folks trying to score additional coupons. Well, it looks like it wasn’t isolated to Idaho and one paper has even offered a reward for finding a newspaper pilferer.

According to USA Today, there have been a rash of incidents across the country of people stealing coupon-filled Sunday papers in order to get the coupons therein.

Here are two such incidents:

•An Arkansas woman was arrested Aug. 4 for allegedly stealing 185 copies of the Sunday Springdale Morning News. She told police she didn’t think the act was illegal.

•Denton, Texas, police arrested a 37-year-old woman in June for allegedly stealing coupons from a rack of newspapers in front of a fast-food restaurant.

The circulation manager at The Cullman Times in Alabama says thefts have jumped 30% this year. The paper ran a front-page story offering a $500 reward for information leading to an arrest of newspaper nabbers.

The VP of circulation at The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., says that while he’s seen an increase in thefts from racks — not to mention dumpster-divers at the paper’s recycling facility — the couponing craze has actually increased sales of his paper.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-08-17-extreme-couponing-newspaper-thefts_n.htm [USA Today]

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