SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — If you have one of those Ring door bells, you might catch a package pirate red handed. But most of the time you don't get your package back.
“All you really record is people stealing packages off your porch, right?,” said Lenita Davis, Executive Director of Professional Sales Program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
So, what can you do to stop thieves from swiping your stuff? Try using one of those Amazon Hub lockers, which are springing up all over town. Just enter your secret code and the locker opens with your package inside.
“People are also starting to send their packages to work. People are using the (doorbell) video cameras so when they see a package delivered, they have a neighbor pick them up,” said Davis.
Other options to stop porch pirates include requiring a signature upon delivery, sending your package to a neighbor's house, or having it held for pickup at the post office.
You can also sign up for tracking and delivery alerts on your smart phone, so you can anticipate when the package will arrive.
If your package does get swiped, Amazon recommends waiting 48 hours before filing a claim for a refund. Frequently, the package turns up either because it was delivered to a neighbor's house by mistake or maybe that delivery alert you received was premature.
The post office recommends not only filing a claim for the lost package with the mail carrier, but also reporting all package thefts to the police department.
That way, officers and postal inspectors can track neighborhoods being targeted by thieves.