In recent years, reports suggest that between 20 million and 25 million people in America experience package theft. In the past year, over 10 million people reported these types of issues. As you may suspect, almost 75% of reported package thefts occur when people are away at work. This is extremely prevalent in suburban neighborhoods where entire families are gone for the day – children at school and parents at work. So what can you do?
Read on to check our practical tips to securing your packages against porch piracy.
Make friends with your neighbors
This is a very basic defense measure where friendly and trustworthy neighbors look out for each other.
Nothing prevents package theft better than a neighbor looking out for your home and keeping an eye on any unfriendly visitors.
Some stats show that in countries where people are socially closer and have built good relationships with their neighbors, theft and crime are lower because the whole community is now on the watch for each member. Who needs cameras when you have good neighbors!
Use surveillance technology
Security cameras are the best way to deter package theft. Video doorbells do a great job of capturing evidence, but they can sometimes go overlooked. If you want to really catch the perpetrator’s eye and ward them away, we suggest cameras that have a more obvious presence.
To learn more, please visit our article about wiresless security cameras.
Timed lights actually work
You can go old-school here with basic timed lights. Or you can use smart lighting to control from your phone. Either way, having lights turn on and off at certain times can give the appearance of life within the home. This can be a deterrent for criminals.
It has the exact same effect as keeping a light or two on in your house before leaving, or the TV turned on in your hotel room, which make it seem like someone is home and is a deterrent to most criminals.
Remove newspapers piles
Make sure you don’t have an overflowing mailbox or newspapers piling up in your driveway. These are clear signals that no one is home, or that no one has been home for a while. Porch pirates take stock of these things.
Consider using package securing equipment
If you do a significant amount of your Christmas shopping online and have it delivered to your doorstep you may want to consider investing in items like these: Door Box or the Keter Delivery Box for Porch.