Burglars who preyed on Asian-American business owners in Connecticut used electronic surveillance on their victims before breaking into their homes, reports WTNH.

After a restaurant owner’s home in Shelton, Connecticut, was burglarized in July, police officers from across the Northeast met to discuss how thieves are using technology and other methods to gain information and access to potential victims.

Shelton police Lt. Robert Kozlowsky said the burglar seemed to know where to look for valuables and escaped with cash, jewelry and handbags. WTNH reported.

In a case that eerily mirrors two cases AsAmNews According to a case reported earlier this month in Abington Township, Pennsylvania, investigators concluded that the perpetrator likely committed the crime intentionally in order to either record or track the victim’s daily routine.

“When they find a business owner, they start following them and looking at their daily routine,” said Tim Silva, Fusion Center manager at the Connecticut Intelligence Center.

Silva also agreed WTNH that some thieves dress in construction or gardening clothes to make it appear as if they are working in the house or garden, when in fact they could install cameras to spy on potential victims.

AAPI business owners are at particularly high risk of such incidents because their businesses are often cash-only, and as a result, they may have more cash at home than the average person. Combine this with cultural norms that lead community members to distrust banks and prefer to hoard cash at home, as well as stereotypes like in the Abington case, and criminals are more likely to target these individuals.

The suspect in the Shelton case, Jung Keng Zhang, 42, of New York, was arrested in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and the victim’s belongings were seized.

Details of the incident, such as the manner of entry and how the perpetrator gained knowledge of the victim’s home, are unclear. WTNH The report also does not indicate whether the restaurant owner in the Shelton case was physically injured.

Shelton Police recommend that AAPI business owners avoid keeping large amounts of cash at home, keep valuables in safes, and install security cameras.

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