The stories on social media are plentiful: A resident receives an email or text message notification that a package was delivered to their home, but they get home and the package is gone.
Even doorbell cameras sometimes aren’t a deterrent to these holiday season “porch pirates.”
One woman in Alexandria’s West End who was a victim of package theft wrote on Nextdoor, “He didn’t care there was a camera."
If it seems like package theft this holiday season is up here in the D.C. metro area, you’re right. A new study compiled a state ranking of consumers the most and least at risk.
Guess who’s #1? The five most at-risk states are: D.C., New Mexico, Alaska, Louisiana and South Carolina.
The study also revealed that nearly 40% of consumers have been victims of package theft from “porch pirates.”
That’s according to a Security.org study on States Most At-Risk For Holiday Package Theft that used recent data on larceny thefts from buildings from the FBI as well as survey results from more than 1,000 consumers across the country.
Here are a few things you can do to make sure you actually receive your packages this holiday season:
- Switch your shipping address to that of a friendly neighbor who is always home, or to your workplace (if that’s allowed).
- Have packages delivered to a local UPS store, Amazon locker or another secured package receiving service.
- Use the ‘delivery instructions’ feature and request that the delivery person leave your package at the back door or otherwise out of sight from the street, such as in a shed.
- If you can, require a signature for delivery of your packages.
- Try to schedule deliveries for when you know you’ll be home (and then put a note on your door asking the delivery person to knock or ring your doorbell to alert you to the package).
If your package does get stolen, here are some steps to take:
- Verify that your package was actually delivered — sometimes deliveries are reported delivered but show up the next morning instead.
- Check with your neighbors in case one of them is holding it for you.
- Alert the retailer. Policies vary from company to company, but you might be able to get a refund or a replacement and it’s worth asking.
- File a claim with the delivery company itself. Most of the time you can do this through their website.
- If you purchased the item on your credit card, see if purchase protection will cover the loss (if the retailer or shipping company won’t).
- If the item was high in value and the above steps fail, consider seeing if you can file a homeowners or renters insurance claim for larceny.
