‘Porch piracy’ on the rise as more Americans buy items online

As more people take to buying products online through websites like Amazon, law enforcement officials say that they are seeing an uptick in thieves stealing packages right of porches.

News 12 Staff

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Jan 12, 2019, 3:13 AM

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Updated 2,180 days ago

As more people take to buying products online through websites like Amazon, law enforcement officials say that they are seeing an uptick in thieves stealing packages right of porches.

About 30 percent of Americans say that they have had at least one package stolen right from their front steps.

“More and more people are taking advantage of this environment, and literally running from house to house to house and stealing these packages,” says consumer advocate Adam Levin.

Law enforcement officials say that there are several ways for consumers to protect themselves from theft.

One way is to get security cameras installed. This is not guaranteed to prevent theft, but it could help law enforcement identify the thief.

It is also possible to buy a lockable delivery box, but many consumers say that their delivery people ignore them.

Consumers who do a lot of online shopping may wish to invest in a post office box or have packages delivered to a neighbor who will be home.

Companies like Amazon will now deliver packages to a homeowner’s garage or inside their home. But that means giving the delivery driver permission to enter the house.

“To me that’s always dangerous. You don’t want somebody crawling around your house that you don’t know,” Levine says.

Police say that one thing a homeowner shouldn’t do is confront the thief. They say that this could be dangerous and it is best to just call police.