TULALIP — A 20-minute trip to the mall last month could have cost Jim Palm $3,000.

Thieves got under Palm’s Toyota 4Runner, cut through the exhaust system and stole the catalytic converter. The truck was parked in the Seattle Premium Outlets parking lot.

It took Palm a couple of minutes to realize something was wrong with his vehicle.

“I heard this really loud noise and thought: ‘Gee, someone next to me needs to get their muffler fixed,’ ” the 55-year-old Seattle man said.

Catalytic converters are built into all modern cars to reduce emissions from vehicle exhaust. It’s illegal and dangerous to drive without one. The fuel tank can explode because hot exhaust blows out through the cut pipes.

Fortunately for Palm, his insurance company picked up most of the bill to replace the part. But he wondered why anyone would want to steal part of the exhaust system.

A thief can cut out the car part in about three minutes and make up to $200.

Inside the catalytic converter is a solid block covered with precious metals, including platinum, palladium and rhodium.

Although metal prices have fallen since last year, platinum is currently worth $812 per ounce, palladium sells for about $181 per ounce and rhodium for $1,175.

Scrap yards pay anywhere from $20 to $200 per catalytic converter, said Scott Wagner, a regional agent with the National Insurance Crime Bureau.

The bureau tackles insurance crimes together with insurance companies and law enforcement agencies.

Catalytic converter thefts surfaced for the first time around 2006, when the bureau received 11 reports from across the country, Wagner said.

There were 69 reports in 2007, and the number spiked to 1,388 in just the first six months of 2008, Wagner said.

The crime has worked its way into Snohomish County, as well, Snohomish County sheriff’s spokeswoman Rebecca Hover said.

“It’s become more prominent as a crime. We are not immune to it in Snohomish County,” she said.

The Snohomish County Prosecutor’s Office recognized the growing trend and assigned a deputy prosecutor to work with police to pursue cases involving catalytic converter thefts.

Detectives have noted a decline in these thefts over the past few months, Everett Police Sgt. Robert Goetz said.

“The reason for this is twofold,” he said. “The first is our efforts with scrap metal recyclers to ensure their compliance with existing law and to provide them with tips on how to spot stolen metals, including catalytic converters. Another reason could be the fall in precious metal cost.”

Generally, the people who steal the valuable car parts appear to have lengthy criminal histories, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Mark Bridges said.

“The defendant who takes a catalytic converter is different from a shoplifter,” he said.

Prosecutors are seeking stiffer sanctions for catalytic converter thieves, including filing felony theft or malicious mischief charges. A key part of the penalty is making sure thieves are placed on community supervision. They also are being banned from entering metal recycling businesses.

“The trend of copper thefts caught us off guard. We didn’t want catalytic converter thefts to do the same thing,” Bridges said. “We’ve done a good job staying ahead of this one.”

Still, thieves continue to go after the devices because they are easy to steal.

Thieves tend to use a battery-operated cutting tool, and it can take as little as 10 seconds to get the job done, Hover said.

Wagner of the insurance crime bureau said trucks and sport utility vehicles are targeted more because they are easier to slip beneath.

Fortunately, the crime is often covered under partial vehicle theft, and most insurance companies will pay for replacement, Wagner said.

“It’s a new nationwide trend that’s getting worse,” Wagner said. “It’s going to take a year or two to start catching these guys.”

Washington law enforcement agencies are figuring out how to accomplish that.

King County Sheriff’s Sgt. John Urquhart said the sheriff’s office is taking steps to prevent these thefts.

“There appears to be more of them in 2008 than before,” he said. “Apparently, more crooks are figuring out that it’s a way to make money.”

Most catalytic converter thefts in King County occur at park-and-ride lots.

Wagner said people should take steps to protect their cars. That includes parking in well-lit areas, adding motion detection to your car alarm, and etching personal information onto catalytic converter.

Palm definitely will avoid parking his car on the street if he can help it.

“It irritated me very much, but it’s like so many things in our society,” he said. “You fix it, and you deal with it.”

Reporter Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452 or kyefimova@heraldnet.com.