Protecting Your Packages from Theft
During the COVID pandemic, an unfortunate new trend emerged. People began to start stealing packages from others’ doorsteps. This new form of theft has been dubbed “Porch Pirating.” While the name is cute, there is nothing cute about having things that you worked hard for to buy taken from you. With the holiday season coming up, there will be a rise in stolen packages. Here are some tips to keep your packages safe.
Track your packages and receive them as soon as possible from your doorstep. Keeping track of where your packages are can help you make sure that you get them. Knowing when they will be delivered, you can be sure to grab them when they arrive.
Let a neighbor know to grab it if you’re not going to be around anytime soon. If you’re going out of town let a neighbor know your package will be coming and see if they can pull into their house for you. We do this all the time because we travel a lot.
Have it delivered to a pickup location. If you aren’t sure when it will be delivered and you don’t want to burden your neighbors, you can have it sent to a pickup location and go get it whenever is best for you and your schedule.
Install a door camera. Most of us should have these now anyhow. It’s good for security purposes all around your home. Having a camera will keep a record of any suspicious activity at your doorstep.
Give the delivery person special instructions. If you have a glass door, perhaps they can place the package inside where it’s out of site a bit more. If there is an entryway that’s closed off, you can instruct them to leave the package inside with a code.
Require a signature. For expensive items, you can always require a signature—this way the package will not be delivered unless someone is there to sign for it.
These steps can help you from being a victim of package pirating but if for some reason it still happens here are some steps to take to find out if it was. First, you have to verify that it was stolen and not just lost in the mailing system somewhere. Checking your cameras and tracking will let you know if has been delivered. You will even see on the camera if someone took it after the fact. Now that you have verified it has been taken, you need to take further action.
Contact the retailer to inform them of the theft. Usually, most retailers are pretty good about resending a package that never got delivered. Just check with them and let them know the situation. Chances are they’ll send you a new one.
Contact the delivery company. Let the delivery service know what’s going on and this will get them on alert for thieves.
Consider involving the cops if it happens more than once you have to call the cops. This is your choice though. Even one time is a crime.
Although the holiday season is a time of joy, it can be a time of stress too. Let’s keep it as relaxed as possible by avoiding any added stressors that can be avoided. Happy holidays!