It’s a growing epidemic and a real concern for online shoppers. In fact, a report from Package Guard claims that 11 million U.S. homeowners have had packages stolen from their doorsteps in the last year. With people increasingly opting to shop online, expect these numbers to go up. This will definitely leave plenty of opportunities for these porch thieves to scope out items left by delivery services like UPS, FedEx, and the USPS. To help combat such dastardly deeds, here are six options you can try to stop getting victimized and have that extra peace of mind when you shop online.
Here’s how it works: If you’re not keen on having a complete stranger open your front door, or if you have pets, then this service is probably not for you.
3. Ship to your office
Another trick is to ship your packages to your work location and let your office mailroom handle them. This is a good option if your local delivery routes usually drop off packages during the day. However, evening and weekend deliveries can be an issue though so it’s not a fool-proof plan. You’re also at the mercy of your mailroom people so make sure you trust them well enough.
You can ship your packages to your office address by visiting the “Manage Addresses and 1-Click Settings” in Your Account. Just click “Enter a new address” and put in the details. For security reasons, you will be asked to confirm your credit card each time you place an order using a new or edited address. Note: You can also delete or edit any saved address you have in this section.
4. Delivery Instructions
However, if you know your local mailman or your regular UPS/FedEx delivery person, you can personally ask them to always drop your packages at a specific location.
5. Trust your neighbors
There’s nothing like a community effort to stop thieves from targeting your neighborhood. If you trust your neighbor, you can ask them to mutually look after your packages. You can ask them to hold any packages that arrive at your front door if no one’s home and you’ll do the same for them. This will keep packages from piling on your doorsteps – a big red bullseye for porch pirates.
6. Install security cameras
Another way to deter porch thieves is via the presence of security cameras. Set these up to keep an eye on key areas of your home, like your front door or patio. Hopefully, if would-be thieves spot your security cameras, they wouldn’t even dare attempt to swipe your packages. And if your packages do get stolen, you can always review your camera’s footage and use it to identify the culprit. Another option is to get a whole home security package like the Simplisafe home security system. In conjunction with its wireless cameras, called SimpliCams, you can protect your whole home from both porch pirates, burglars, and break-ins. SimpliSafe offers a multi-layered, wireless home security system that does a lot more than sound an alarm when an intruder breaks in. It does that with a super-loud siren, but it goes deeper with SimpliCam, a panic button, motion sensors and a whole lot more. Click here to get your SimpliSafe security system now to get free shipping, free returns, and a 60-day money back guarantee! There are a few things you can do to protect yourself, but if it happens to you, you need to know what to do. Here are your options.
