PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia ranked second in Safewise’s list of the top 10 worst cities for package theft this year. As the holidays approach and more packages are ordered, an Amazon spokesperson says there are a few things people can do to protect their deliveries from porch pirates.
“The vast majority of our orders do make it to the customer without any issues. However, there are times when people can be a victim of porch piracy, and it's unfortunate,” said Amazon spokesperson Sharyn Ghacham. She says to throw off would-be thieves, customers can use things like the tracking feature.
“This allows customers to track their packages in real-time so that they know when the package gets delivered and they can retrieve it before there's time for thieves to come,” she said.
Ghacham says customers can also tell drivers about a hidden drop-off location around the property that’s not visible from the street. There are also Amazon lockers and store locations that will hold packages.
The United States Postal Service suggests holding packages at the post office for pick up if porch piracy is a concern. People can also require a signature at the time of delivery or invest in a home security camera system to catch thieves in the act, which can help when filing a police report — something that should be done in all cases.
According to Safewise, a home security and safety advisory group, porch pirates cost Americans more than $16 billion in 2023.