Porch piracy is something nearly 1 in 5 Americans experience. Holidays are a time to spread joy and cheer, but porch pirates within your community have some different ideas. The rate of being a victim of this type of crime is about 18% if you live inside a metropolitan city, and 16% if you reside outside of the city.
“With online purchasing about 30% higher overall this year than in previous years, that just means more packages are being left outside,” said Jim Temmer, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau Wisconsin. Disturbingly enough 7% of Americas say they have had a package stolen since the beginning of the pandemic in March.
With all the crime you might be wondering how you can protect yourself and your community. Here are a few ways you can be proactive!
- Provide the delivery driver special instructions, such as requiring a signature for delivery.
- Install doorbell cameras! According to Temmer, it might help! But proceed with caution, these devices may not alert you with enough time to catch a thief in action.
- Bring in packages as quickly as possible.
- Sign up for text-based delivery notifications through your online retailer.
- Ask a neighbor to bring your packages inside if you are not home.
- Join your neighborhood social media groups to better communicate with your neighbors regarding suspicious activity.
If you fall victim to this type of crime and don’t have any camera footage, police say having a specific time frame of when the package was delivered can help in their investigation. If you see anything suspicious, don’t hesitate to report it! Police can patrol your neighborhood and surrounding areas to make sure everyone can have a safe and happy holiday season.
Keep an eye out, and be proactive in protecting your community, for more information about how to protect yourself watch this video by WKWB TV.
