NAPLES, Fla. — Cyber Monday has arrived which means people will be shopping for great deals from the comfort of home.
But they aren't the only ones looking forward to their deliveries. Porch pirates are also keeping an eye out for packages and, thankfully, there is a way to prevent prowling thieves.
Naples Police Department say they haven’t seen any instances of porch thefts so far this year. It is still pretty early, but authorities want to remind homeowners that the holiday season is a breeding ground for porch thefts.
According to UPS, a majority of packages are delivered without incident but more than 1.7 million packages are stolen or go missing every day. That equates to $25 million in lost goods. To better protect those deliveries, and your community, the NPD says they will be adding extra patrols this holiday.
“This is the time of year where we definitely see an uptick in deliveries, obviously- everyone is doing their holiday shopping," says Lt. Bryan McGin, Naples Police Department. "We always beef up patrols and our officers are out there and they’re vigilant to see if there’s a lot of packages. They may ring a doorbell or try to help out that individual and say hey, make sure everything is where it’s supposed to be.”
One helpful tip- install a surveillance camera. Lt. McGin says the police department partners with Ring Security to better serve the community.
“We partner with Ring to do the neighborhood app and we put out messages to people all the time with just simple tips and safety measures depending on what season or time of year it is that coordinates with that. It’s another good measure to keep up with, again, any kind of reporting of suspicious incidents or anything like that that may go on.”
A few other tips include setting up notifications to track your package. You can easily set up text notifications when completing an order online. Also try to set up your deliveries for when you are home. You can require a signature when an order is delivered, that way you know it’s arrived safely. Lastly, if you’re not able to be home, you can try having that order shipped to your work or business.
A few other helpful tips:
- Place a hold on a delivery if you know you’re going to be away from home for an extended period of time
- Notify a neighbor when a delivery is being made.
- Consider getting a P.O. box at a local post office.
