Trail camera theft is pretty common..
I have to wonder why the manufacturers don't put encryption capabilities on them that would make them useless to anyone who doesn't have the code.
It would be a simple and very cheap feature to add that would make the unit useless to anyone who steals it.
I think I know why they don't... Its because having it stolen means you'll probably purchase another one.. And, people who steal stuff like that usually don't purchase them anyhow so its not like they're losing a sale.
That said.. there may be a solution that would almost force the manufacturers to install theft protection devices..
The solution is to pay for it with your credit card and then make a claim with your cc company when it's stolen. Most people don't even know you can do this but its part of you credit card terms and DOES NOT increase your cost of using the card in any way. Its already built in and has been that way for decades.
Once the credit card companies start getting thousands of claims, they'll have a chat with the camera manufacturers.
Did you know that using your credit card also doubles your manufacturers warranty up to 1 year?