ORANGE PARK, Fla. – An Orange Park neighborhood was targeted by porch pirates right before the holidays, and it was all caught on camera.
Now, residents in the Spencer Plantation neighborhood are calling for the thieves to return the gifts — no questions asked.
Neighbors said the lack of streetlights in this area could be what’s attracting porch pirates, and that this has been a problem for the last few years now.
“There’s a report of people actually following delivery trucks. And once the deliveries have been made, they’ll wait a couple of minutes and go and grab the package,” neighbor Candace Bleich said.
Bleich’s ring camera captured the porch pirates taking packages from her front door.
Watch the video below.
Bleich said this has been a problem for the last few years in her Orange Park neighborhood. She calls it disappointing.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a $5 keychain or, you know, a $500, you know, piece of porcelain or whatever it doesn’t matter what it is, it’s from your heart. It’s for somebody else that you love. There’s a reason that you purchased that gift. And it’s not to have it taken from somebody else,” Bleich said.
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This is a widespread problem, too.
Forbes reports nearly 8 in 10 Americans had a package stolen in 2022.
Bleich has a message for the porch pirates.
“Even if the package is open, you know, even if you don’t want to sit there and knock on the door and meet the person face to face. Leave a note in. You know, it’d be nice if they apologized. But at the very least, get it back, sit there and you know, don’t do this in the future, obviously,” Bleich said.
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It’s always a good idea to buy things online using a credit card. If you had a package that was stolen from your front porch, you may be able to dispute the charge or reach out to see what protections are in place to get a refund.
Although this didn’t stop them in this case, a doorbell camera can sometimes deter thieves.
Police also recommend asking a neighbor or family member to pick up a package that will sit on the porch for a while, trying to utilize pickup delivery options like an Amazon locker, or requiring a signature at delivery.