In the Holiday Season while we’re all hoping for warmth, love, and joy there are people out there who are focused on larceny. The fact is that more than 4 in 10 people have had a package stolen off of their front porch. The United States Postal Service (USPS) is delivers the most packages of all the shippers and is projecting they will deliver an average of 20.5 million packages per day through the end of this year. With these statistics, we thought you might appreciate some tips on foiling those porch pirates.
You can set up notifications from UPS, FedEx or USPS notifications with delivery services that will let you know exactly when your package will arrive and reschedule it or have it held for pickup. Notifications are free, but sometimes rescheduling a package will cost you a fee.
In some cases, you can add extra delivery instructions to your order. You could ask them to leave items by a side door where they won't be easily spotted by thieves. Look for a "delivery instructions" option when you're entering shipping information, then add any details that can help secure your package.
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.
Practically every retailer with physical stores will let you to pick up purchases in your local store rather than have it delivered to you. This can be a really convenient option, particularly for big retailers like Best Buy, Target and Walmart which have locations everywhere. As a bonus, there's usually no delivery fee for in-store pickup.
Posting a sign in a visible location that states that your property is under 24-hour surveillance can also be a deterrent. Where porch theft is often a crime of opportunity, every visible deterrent that will discourage a porch pirate from stealing your package may help.
Package Theft Alarm. Request deliverymen and women to leave packages on a disc that is connected to WiFi. Once a package is delivered, you receive a text message notifying you that it delivered which might be helpful if you're home but didn't hear the deliveryman or woman deliver your package. Unless you or someone who is authorized picks the package up from the Package Guard, a 100db alarm will sound, hopefully scaring away criminals.
Getting a Locker. Multiple companies offer the service of having packages delivered to their address and held there for pickup. Amazon has also added delivery to your garage or car using Amazon Key.
Installing a Parcel Box. A number of companies are now building secure lockboxes that allow varies mail carriers to deliver your packages in a concealed and secured container. This measure has a significant effect on reducing theft as packages are not visible once delivered and secured in a weatherproof, locked container. Many of these containers can be secured to your property and lock after delivery.
We hope that you escape the porch pirates with some of our ideas. When you want more information about insurance, we are a phone call away.
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Sources: USPS, Security.org, Techlicious, Prevent Package Theft, Family Handyman