Porch piracy involves thieves stealing packages from homes and has become a growing problem. Porch pirates typically watch neighborhoods to identify homes that frequently receive packages when no one is home. They then steal packages immediately after they are delivered. There are several steps homeowners can take to prevent porch piracy, such as requiring a signature for all deliveries, using a delivery locker, installing security cameras or lights, having packages delivered to work, or rescheduling deliveries for when someone will be home. Porch pirates target perceived low-risk homes and steal packages for their unknown contents in a crime that is relatively low-risk and high-reward for the thieves.

1. Preventing
Porch Pirates
FROM TARGETING YOUR HOME
Who are
Porch Pirates?
Preventing
Porch Piracy
How Porch
Pirates Plunder
Porch pirates are a growing problem, resulting in thousands of
stolen packages and millions of dollars in lost merchandise each
year. Here are some details you need to know to protect yourself
and your packages from these plunderers.
eyetrax.net
■■ Requiring a signature for all
deliveries means your packages
won’t be left on your doorstep.
■■ Using a delivery locker as provided
by Amazon or another retailer
means only you should be able to
retrieve your package.
■■ Adding security measures such
as a front door camera or motion-
activated lights can help deter or
catch thieves.
■■ Having your packages delivered
to your workplace, if feasible,
can ensure that you’ll be able to
receive any daytime deliveries.
■■ If your package is scheduled to be
delivered while no one’s home, see
if you can reschedule it for a time
when you or someone else will be.
■■ Porch pirates look for homes they
consider to be soft targets.
■■ Often, porch pirates will watch
homes on a particular block to
determine which ones receive
frequent packages and which
of those are unoccupied during
the day.
■■ Once they identify a target, they
will simply wait until a delivery
person leaves the house, then
walk right up to the front door and
swipe the package.
■■ Most of the time, porch pirates
don’t have any idea what it is
they are stealing, leading to
reports of coffee filters and other
inexpensive items being stolen.
■■ Porch pirates will go through with
it anyway because the crime is
relatively low-risk and high-reward.
■■ The term “porch pirates” refers to
thieves who steal packages from
people’s porches and doorsteps.
■■ Because more people have goods
delivered to their homes, there has
been an increase in the number of
packages left on people’s porches
and doorsteps during the day.
■■ The rise of online merchants, such
as Amazon, has been linked to the
rise in these types of crimes.
■■ More than 23 million Americans
report having packages stolen
from their front doors each year.