Sadly it’s not new - I can remember reading a similar item on a new website 2-3 years ago. As with all thefts of this type, the
scum perpetrators don’t consider the inconvenience and cost to the owners

.
For those old enough to remember, there was a craze in the 1980’s of stealing VW front grille badges by fans of the hip hop and rap group Beastie Boys, prompted by one of the band members wearing a large VW emblem on a chain around his neck. In my part of the UK beck then, it was quite common to see VW’s with a hole in the front grille where the VW emblem should have been. At least in the 1980’s the badge was just a badge, and didn't have an expensive radar sensor attached to it so wasn’t that costly to replace. It still didn’t make it right though……..
https://www.vintagecarsofeurope.com/post/why-it-became-a-trend-to-steal-car-emblems