CITRUS HEIGHTS, Calif. — We’re all used to seeing videos of packages being taken off of porches or worry our items may be gone before we get home, but package thieves may have upped their game ahead of this year's holiday season.
Roseville resident Christine, who wishes to not have her last name published, says she ordered some new Apple chargers from the company and had them shipped through UPS, which she doesn’t use often.
After a few days of waiting, a missed delivery requiring a signature, and a reroute to the UPS on Greenback Lane, Christine was able to pick up her package at the store.
"A young guy was helping me and he was kind of taking longer than I thought it should and they were looking for the package everywhere," said Christine, adding the clerks checked her ID multiple times before asking if someone else was supposed to pick up her package for her.
"I was taken aback and I said, 'No. What do you mean? Here I am,'" said Christine.
She was then alerted about a “pretty persistent young man” who came in trying to pick up the package for her.
The letter contained Christine’s first and last name, her order tracking number, a message that appeared to be written by her and a photo ID scanned onto the page with her name on it.
The letter reads: AUTHORIZATION LETTER 21/10/2022 To Whom it May Concern: I, Christine [last name], Authorize David [ABC10 is withholding his last name because he has not formally been named as a suspect] as pick up my personal packages while I am out of town. Since this is a time-sensitive matter, it is necessary for David pick up My pakage my absence. Thank you for special consederation of this matter.
“They showed me the letter and what I saw made my stomach drop,” said Christine. “It was all fake. It wasn't a picture of me, it wasn't my passport. Nothing about it was real. You could tell there's obvious effort that went into even making this.”
Christine says she has no idea how the man could have gotten all her information.
Speculation from community members who saw her post online say it could have been the missed delivery slip, or maybe her UPS account was hacked at some point.
UPS spokesperson Amanda Catala says this isn’t likely, but it would take a while to officially find out what happened to potentially breach security.
“UPS has resources dedicated to preventing, identifying and stopping fraudulent activity. We do not disclose those methods to maintain their effectiveness,” said Catala. “What I can share is safety is our first priority, and we have strict protocols in place.”
Christine praised UPS' security and safety policies for protecting her package and "having her back," but says she is still unnerved by the whole situation.
“Overall, I mean, I felt really confused and helpless,” said Christine. “Just that somebody would go through that much effort? Did they pick me on purpose? Or did they pick me because of a door tag or an accidental click. It was really confusing. I made the police report because honestly it was also scary, especially for a woman.”
The police report she filed came after she called Citrus Heights Police Department’s non emergency dispatch number and asked what she should do since a crime technically hadn't been committed. The officer who answered her call suggested she file a report online.
CHPD says these kinds of police reports are meant more for documentation for future cases and they recommend residents send their packages to a store for pick-up instead of delivering it to their home because it is safer.
Catala says UPS security works with law enforcement on the local level for security and safety cases.
Christine says she hopes telling her story will help people stay more diligent ahead of the holiday season.
"I hope people stay aware and I hope they'd be nicer to people when they're out and about shopping," said Christine. "There's not really anybody that's going to be immune to [potential fraud and theft]."
Here are some tips from UPS and other delivery companies on how to protect your packages, especially ahead of the holiday season:
- Sign up with the delivery company to see tracking progress of your package and track it
- If you work during the day, reroute your package to a pick-up location or a trusted friend/neighbors house so they can sign on your behalf
- Give specifications to delivery drivers on where to safely store your package like in the backyard shed or behind the garage
- Identify the person you are speaking with or seeing by looking to see if they have proper identification for the company they work for
- Do not fall victim to online phishing and fraud scams. Companies like UPS will not request payments, personal or financial information, IDs, passwords or invoice copies through text messages, email, mail, phone, fax or specifically in exchange for the transportation of goods or services, according to Catala
- Be aware of any “red flags” in messaging between you and the supposed company. Watch for things like typos, incomplete sentences and poor grammar as seen in the letter Christine was given.
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