CHARLOTTE COUNTY – A survey conducted by UNCTAD shows that online purchases have increased by 6% to 10% points across most product categories.
Meaning law enforcement agencies are preparing for an increase number of cases of package thefts. The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) shares tips on how to prevent becoming a victim to porch pirates.
“We’re trying to let the public know when they are shopping online…it’s important to keep track of your packages,” Claudette Bennett.
Bennett, the public information officer with the CCSO, says the agency is prepared for a possible spike in calls regarding online shopping orders that never arrive. And no you can’t blame the post office for this one.
A Value Penguin survey found 1 in 5 Americans were victims of Porch Pirates since the start of the COVID-19 Stay at Home Orders.
“When you get that alert on your email saying your packages has shipped. Usually there’s an option that you can receive notifications of the route your package has taking,” said Bennett. “We recommend doing that, that way you can keep an eye on when it’s going to be delivered and when it actually arrives at your house.”
The same survey found that 54% of Americans say they had multiple packages stolen in the last 12 months with 1 in 3 admitting they took no action to prevent porch piracy. Costing Americans on average $106 to porch piracy, some reporting losses as high as $4,800 from a single package.
Amazon offers lockers for your valuables to be delivered to. But if that’s not an option Bennett says you can have them deliver to work, or making connections with your neighbors to keep an eye out for your online purchases can also go a long way.
So this holiday season don’t be Grinch because you never know whose watching.
“Before you take something that’s not yours, you might be getting some charges instead of some packages and to be honest you never know what’s inside,” said Bennett. “That may be a big box, but it might not be worth going to jail for.”
