10 ways to thwart porch pirates this holiday season

A more and more common practice in this age of online shopping is “porch pirates” who steal your packages after they are delivered to your home. (Matthew Van Doren/Courier)

A more and more common practice in this age of online shopping is “porch pirates” who steal your packages after they are delivered to your home. (Matthew Van Doren/Courier)

Porch pirates don’t care if you’ve been naughty or nice. All they want are your unattended packages, and the holiday season is when they tend to be most active.

According to a 2019 survey released by insuranceQuotes.com, 59.4 million Americans (18%) have had a package stolen from their porch or doorstep at one point in their life.

“As online ordering continues to grow in popularity and increasingly becomes the norm for shoppers, the threat of porch pirates will inevitably continue to grow as well,” said Nick DiUlio, analyst, insuranceQuotes.com. “While package theft takes place all year round, the holiday season is prime time.”

In some cases, these are simply crimes of opportunity, said Lt. Jon Brambila with the Prescott Police Department (PPD).

“People are just walking by, they see a package there, they run up, they grab it, they take off,” he said.

Other times, it’s thieves patrolling neighborhoods specifically looking for packages to snatch.

So far, there have only been two such crimes reported this holiday season in the quad-city area: One in Prescott and one in Chino Valley.

Neither of the investigations into the thefts have resulted in an arrest. Brambila said this is commonly the case with package theft unless residents have security cameras set up on their properties.

“Outside of that, there’s really not much to the investigation, unless someone reports seeing a suspicious vehicle in the area or someone is home and sees the theft occur,” Brambila said.

To avoid being a victim of package theft, the Prescott Valley Police Department recommends the following:

1 - Don’t let your packages sit. Track your package delivery and arrange to have them collected promptly.

2 - Talk to your neighbors. If you have neighbors who are home during the day, consider asking them to collect your packages on the delivery date.

3 - Ship to an alternate address. Depending on where you work, your company may allow you to ship your packages directly to your place of business. Check with management to see if this is acceptable. In addition, consider shipping your packages to a friend or relative who would be home to safely receive them.

4 - Ship to the store. Some retailers allow you to ship to a store near you. While this isn’t as convenient, it does provide security and helps avoid long lines at the register. Some stores even offer special parking near the entrance.

5 - Hi-tech solutions. If you order numerous packages all year round, it may be wise to invest in technology-based solutions. Examples of this may include mobile apps, security cameras, Ring Doorbell or services such as Package Guard.

6 - Install a package lockbox. If you have deliveries showing up daily, you may want to consider installing a lockbox. These boxes can be bolted to your front porch. Once installed, share your code with your delivery service and you should be good to go.

7 - Signature on delivery. Consider having your packages delivered only when someone is available to sign for them.

8 - Insure your holiday packages. Because package theft increases around the holidays, it may be wise to insure your packages this time of year. This way, if your package is stolen, you can be reimbursed for your loss.

9 - Ship to your local pack and ship store. If you have a UPS, FedEx, or other locally-owned packing and shipping store nearby, consider sending your packages there.

10- Finally, if you see anything suspicious, call the police.


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