The holiday season brings an expectation that porch pirates will be in neighborhoods looking for packages on front porches to take. And with COVID-19, package theft has been a major concern for homeowners and local police departments.
The Bellevue Police Department says that is has seen a 100 percent increase in package thefts and a 72 percent increase in mail theft compared to this time last year. The Everett Police Department has been sending out reminders on how to prevent package theft on its Twitter feed. And a study places the Seattle area as seventh nationwide for package thefts with 503 reported thefts per 100,000 population.
Here are some reminders of what you can do to keep porch pirates from taking your deliveries,
· Track
your packages so that you know when they are delivered to your house. FEDEX,
UPS, and the U.S. Postal Service all have ways to track packages on their way
to your house.
· Pick
up your package promptly. If you will not be home when it arrives, have a
trusted neighbor pick it up for you.
· Give
the carrier special instructions. Have them place it out of sight such as on
the side of the house, on the back deck, or other easy hiding place.
· Have
the package delivered to another secure location such as a UPS Store, FEDEX Store,
your local Post Office or an Amazon Locker.
· Consider
installing a security camera on your front porch. This may have some deterrent effect.
If your package is stolen, the video can give police evidence of who stole your
package.
KOMO News:
https://komonews.com/news/local/record-spike-in-mail-packaging-theft-in-bellevue-as-online-shopping
Seattle PI:
Bid-On-Equipment:
https://www.bid-on-equipment.com/post/package-theft-covid-19-pandemic
Market Watch:
FEDEX:
https://www.fedex.com/en-us/delivery-manager/how-to-prevent-stolen-missing-packages.html
UPS:
USPS:
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