JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Christmas holiday shopping season is officially underway, and with it comes the porch pirates who will be out and about, looking to steal delivered gifts that were purchased online.
News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney said there are things people can do to prevent becoming a victim of porch piracy. The first step is to pay close attention to when your packages are scheduled to be delivered.
“If you’re home grab it as soon as possible. The longer it sits out there, the bigger target it becomes and a bigger opportunity to be stolen,” Hackney said.
Also, consider purchasing and installing an outdoor lockbox. All your delivered packages can be safely stored and locked inside the box until you get home. Another option is an alternate delivery location, especially if the item you purchased is considered expensive.
“Anything you can’t live without or anything that would completely upset you if you were out that much money, consider somewhere else to have it delivered,” Hackney said.
Your workplace can be a great delivery location, especially if the item you purchased can only be delivered on a day and time when you have to be at work.
If you’re ordering a big-ticket item directly from a national retail chain, you can arrange to have that item delivered to one of their local stores where you can pick it up in person.
Should you roll the dice and allow your packages to be delivered to your doorstep, consider last year’s data on porch piracy. According to Veho, a US-based delivery logistics company, porch pirates stole an estimated 260 million packages last year across the US. The thefts resulted in losses totaling more than $9 billion.
Porch pirates are so bold that not only will they steal your packages in broad daylight, but they will go as far as to do it right in front of your security camera. In some cases, they will look right into the camera as they steal your packages.
“They’ll look right into your camera and almost say thanks for your package and walk off,” Hackney said.
In recent years, people have posted videos of themselves placing booby traps in fake packages left on their porch to teach thieves a lesson. Hackney said that’s a tactic you should avoid.
“If you booby trap things where someone could get injured, even though they’re stealing your property, you don’t want that on you. You don’t want the liability for that. You don’t want to face a criminal charge for booby-trapping a package. If you booby trap something with the knowledge that it can hurt someone else, you’re criminally liable for that,” Hackney said.
So, the best thing you can do is take steps to avoid those problems altogether.