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Tips to protect your holiday packages from porch pirates

By Vonnai Phair, The Seattle Times
Published: December 21, 2022, 7:40am

There’s really no way to sugar coat it — Seattle is on the naughty list this year.

Seattle is the second-worst city in the country for package theft, according to new research from home safety website SafeWise and home security provider Vivint Smart Home.

The analysis, based on a combination of Google Trends data and FBI crime data, ranked the Seattle-Tacoma area among the nation’s 10 cities where porch pirates strike the most. San Francisco, Portland and Los Angeles also made the list.

But it’s not just these 10 cities — porch piracy is up across the country this year, with 79% of Americans having packages stolen in the last 12 months (compared to 64% the previous year), according to SafeWise.

Americans lost around 260 million packages from November 2021 to November 2022, which is an estimated loss of $19.5 billion, according to SafeWise.

Top 10 worst metros for package theft

The Seattle-Tacoma metro ranks second in the U.S. for areas where porch pirates strike the most. A survey found porch piracy is up this year, with 79% of Americans having a package stolen in the last 12 months, amounting to around 260 million packages disappearing from porches across America — that’s 50 million more packages swiped compared to 2021.

Porch piracy is especially prevalent during the holiday season, which is one of the most popular times of the year for online shopping and package deliveries. Over the past five years, nationwide internet searches for “package stolen” have nearly doubled each year from November to December.

But despite rising rates of package theft and early fall inflation woes, Santa still had plenty to spend this year. Consumers spent more than $11 billion on Cyber Monday ($12.8 million every minute during one peak hour), making it the biggest online shopping day ever, according to Adobe.

A record 196 million Americans also shopped in stores and online over the holiday shopping period from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, according to a survey released by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.

So, with record shopping days, last minute gifts arriving this week and an estimated 60 million packages being processed every day through the Postal Service alone this holiday season, it’s clear why this time of year is one of the most popular times for porch piracy.

“It’s safe to say that it’s a good time to be on extra alert for it,” said Detective Valerie Carson, a Seattle Police Department public information officer.

“Cameras and secure places to get your packages delivered are the best solutions.”

Consider these tips from the Seattle Police Department and the Better Business Bureau to prevent package theft and protect your holiday cheer:

  • Track your shipment online. Make sure to track when your package will be delivered. Some retailers allow customers to sign up for notifications when their package is delivered, which is a good way to ensure your package is not left unattended.
  • Don’t leave unattended packages. When possible, do not leave delivered packages unattended for long periods. If you are expecting a package, attempt to schedule its delivery when you know you will be home. If you plan to be gone for an extended time during the holidays, ask your neighbors if they can hold on to packages that have been delivered.
  • Check with neighbors. Sometimes, your package may not be stolen, just simply at the wrong address. Before filing a report or contacting the sender, check with your neighbors and see if the delivery service may have dropped off your package at the wrong address. Many delivery companies will take pictures of your package in the designated location — be sure to check for the photo and verify it’s at the right spot.
  • Arrange to ship the package to another location for someone else to receive. This can be a friend, relative, trusted neighborhood or landlord/apartment leasing office.
  • Ship to store. If purchasing an item from a retailer that has a physical location near your home, consider shipping it there instead. Retailers will require proof of purchase or identification before releasing packages they have received.
  • Use a security camera. Installing a home security system with cameras or a camera-enabled doorbell is a great way to deter package theft, especially when it is highly visible. Consider including a sign that specifically states that the residence is under surveillance. If a package is stolen from your porch, the video evidence can help law enforcement track down the thief.
  • Require a signature. Many delivery companies include the option to require a signature before leaving a package, letting you take physical possession of your package as soon as it is delivered. Be sure to check with the delivery company on their policy for packages that are not signed for; they may return it to the sender after a certain number of attempts.
  • Consider a package receiving service. Some major retailers, such as Amazon, offer secure package receiving locations away from your home that you can access with a key or code. Some independent businesses also specialize in this service, allowing you to designate a different delivery location for your packages and the ability to pick them up. You can also ask your delivery service to hold your package for pick up at its facility.
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