With Christmas just around the corner, the last thing anyone wants is a grinchy porch pirate swooping in to steal their presents and holiday cheer.
Unfortunately, the area where you live can significantly impact your risk of becoming a target for these thieves.
According to the SafeWise Package Theft Report, an alarming 260,000 packages are stolen every day across the United States, with New York City ranking as the worst metro area for package theft. An estimated 9.2 million homes in NYC have been hit by porch pirates this year, costing more than $945 million in losses.
The second worst cities for package thefts is Philadelphia, where nearly 4.2 million homes have been targeted by porch pirates, resulting in about $450 million in losses.
Chicago takes the third spot, with 2.6 million package thefts costing more than $261 million.
Interestingly, nearly every city in the top 10 is in the eastern U.S., with Texas being the farthest western state represented.
Although in tenth place, Cleveland led the list of the most incidents per capita, as porch pirates struck nearly 1,400 times per 1,000 households.
Top 10 worst metros for package theft
1. New York City, NY
2. Philadelphia, PA
3. Chicago, IL
4. Washington, D.C.
5. Houston, TX
6. Atlanta, GA
7. Charlotte, NC
8. Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
9. Boston, MA
10. Cleveland, OH
When it comes to which packages porch pirates are stealing the most, Amazon deliveries are the clear favorites -- topping the list at 33% of reported thefts. That's followed by UPSP at 18.3%, FedEx at 17.1% and UPS at 15.7%. Grocery deliveries also fall victim, making up 7% of thefts, while meal kits like HelloFresh represent nearly 4%, according to the report.
Despite more than half of all Americans worrying that they'll have a package stolen, the report notes that one in four people don't do anything to deter porch pirates.
Among the top 10 metro areas where package theft is the most costly, 9 in 10 people took action after losing a package to porch pirates, per the report. Security cameras or video doorbells are the top deterrent used, followed by working with neighbors and using package tracking.