Consider these tips to protect your holiday gifts from porch pirates
Dec 3, 2024, 5:38 AM | Updated: 10:58 am
An Amazon Prime delivery person lifts packages while making a stop on Nov. 28, 2023, in Denver. (File photo: David Zalubowski, AP)
(File photo: David Zalubowski, AP)
Monday was known as Cyber Monday and it was expected to be the busiest ever.
Adobe Analytics, which tracks online shopping, expected consumers to spend a record $13.2 billion on Monday, 6.1% more than last year. That would make it the season’s — and the year’s — biggest — shopping day for e-commerce.
Online spending is expected to peak between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Monday night, per Adobe Analytics — reaching an estimated $15.7 million spent every minute.
That means a lot of packages delivered to front porches all over Western Washington. The thieves know it and are looking for opportunities.
“Most people know it as the winter holiday season, but for us, we can call it the thieving season. This is their full-time job right now, to make money off of picking things from you and your neighbors,” Pierce County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Darren Moss Jr. said about porch pirates.
Porch theft can be a problem anytime during the year, but it really ramps up during the holiday season, for obvious reasons. It’s a crime of opportunity in a target-rich environment.
“The thieves are out there following the post office around; they’re following Amazon drivers around. They’re going through neighborhoods looking for packages sitting on porches,” Moss Jr. said.
Crime blotter: News about the crimes committed in the Puget Sound region
Tips to protect your packages from porch pirates
All over Western Washington, police and deputies are alerting citizens to take steps to protect yourself, your neighbors and your packages.
First, retrieve packages from your porch as soon as possible. Work with your neighbors to retrieve each other’s packages when no one is at home.
And Moss, Jr. says a Ring doorbell video cameras is a great way to know when packages arrive. It also serves as a deterrent and could provide much needed suspect description and evidence for police.
“Usually, it’s just a handful of people that are doing all the stealing in the area. If we catch that person, we shut down that theft for the entire neighborhood for the rest of the holiday season,” Moss Jr. said.
Finally, Moss Jr. said to always report package theft to police, no matter how small the monetary value of your loss.
“If we have enough suspect information, we can assign that to our property crimes investigators who would be able to follow up and catch these folks,” he said.
Contributing: The Associated Press
James Lynch is a reporter at KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of James’ stories here. Follow James on X, or email him here.
