A string of lockbox thefts came to an end when Arkansas police arrested Amanda Tester, an executive at Cooperative Arkansas Realtors Multiple Listings Services. One would hope that a licensed real estate agent would do the right thing, but readers of this site know that not all agents are as trustworthy as they would lead us to believe.

Police in the Little Rock area spent quite some time in pursuit of a lockbox thief, who stole General Electric brand Supra locks are the industry standard. The electronic lockboxes can be opened by authorized agents only, and have proven to be nearly impenetrable without damaging the keys inside. Even a crowbar or gun cannot break into the Supra lock box.

That is why police and agents were puzzled by a string of missing lockboxes. The thief was somehow able to steal the box, open it, and steal valuables from inside the homes.

The culprit turned out to be a member of the Arkansas Realtor community. Police pointed out that the lockbox thefts were all at locations where the box was not secured physically to the property. Boxes attached to door handles, for example, were not stolen in any of the thefts or implicated in any burglaries.

However, leaving a lockbox lying around or attached to something like a chain link fence makes them susceptible to theft.

If you have a home for sale, always take steps to keep your lockboxes and open houses safe and secure. You never know who is lurking around the corner.

Read the full story at First Arkansas News.