Happy Thanksgiving from everyone at the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office. We know our county and city residents are enjoying time with family and friends today, with many planning their holiday shopping strategy over turkey dinner. Sheriff Dave Wedding would like to remind everyone of a persistent issue in December, porch piracy!
Sheriff Wedding stated, “So called ‘porch pirates’ have struck in our county already this year and will undoubtedly continue their activity throughout the holidays. The explosion of internet based shopping has made this form of theft particularly lucrative during the weeks prior to Christmas.”
Porch pirates snatch packages from the front doors of homes and make off with the loot. Porch pirates have been known to follow UPS and FedEx trucks, grabbing packages soon after they are delivered.
How to defend against porch pirates:
- Bring in packages as quickly as possible.
- Sign up for text based delivery notifications through your online retailer.
- Ask a neighbor to bring your packages inside if you are not home.
- Consider deterent options such as a Package Guard or a Video Doorbell.
- Join your nieghboorhood social media group on Nextdoor to better communicate with your neighbors regarding suspicious activity and recieve localized alerts from the Sheriff’s Office.
According to the National Retail Federation, almost half of all shopping will be online this holiday season. With a few precautions, we can prevent these pirates from making off with our holiday treasure.
Image courtesy of Turner Entertainment Co.
