Online shopping has become a mainstay of the Christmas gifting season, meaning packages from online sellers such as Amazon and Ebay arrive at millions of people’s doorsteps every day. However, with this increase of packages coming to your home, also comes an increase in a relatively new form of theft known as porch pirating, involving the perpetrators taking packages off the porch before the recipient can bring the package inside their house. Monmouth Police Chief Joe Switzer encourages all people who plan on ordering gifts online, to try to keep an eye on when their package is arriving, as well as keeping gifts out of sight as much as possible.
“It is that time of year where people are getting a lot of packages on their front porches. We want to be careful that if you have packages delivered to your home, try to get those packages inside as soon as you can. There are, unfortunately, people the walk around or go around and try to take those packages. Same with your vehicles, if you are out Christmas shopping, keep your purchases out of sight and don’t make yourself a target when your car is parked in the parking lot.”
According to CNBC, “porch pirates” stole an estimated 19.5 billion dollars worth of packages in 2022.
***Story Written by Kadin Rogers***
