TAYLORVILLE, Ill. (WAND) – The season of thieves is underway and police across Central Illinois are sounding the alarm about porch pirates as millions of Americans order their Christmas gifts online.
Police say this is the time of year we see an increase in package thefts, and a new study supports it. A report from safewise.com found so far in 2020, 50% of Americans have fallen victim to package theft. That is up 10% from in 2019 and of the thefts in 2020, the report found 75% happened during the pandemic.
"It’s more this time of year than other times because there are more packages being delivered," “Lt. Ben Toberman with the Taylorville Police Department said.
Since the start of the pandemic, SafeWise found 67% of Americans say they have ordered a package online, while 50% say they get a package delivered at least once a week.
With more people working from home during the COVID crisis, thieves are still striking. SafeWise found 68% of package thefts occur at single-family homes.
"Be aware of what is going on,” Toberman said.
From keeping your packages hidden, to having a neighbor hold onto it, Toberman said tracking your package is the most important thing you can do – not only will you know when it is delivered, you can track its entire journey.
"These packages anymore have a better tracking device than 911 hang up calls,” Toberman said.
You can also have your package delivered to the store you ordered it from, or your employer if allowed and Toberman suggested not shopping online, and instead supporting local.
"We'd all like to shop local and there are local businesses that have great merchandise to purchase,” he said.
Protecting your deliveries goes beyond just tracking them or hiding them. Police also say you can have packages put in secure lockers at FedEX, or UPS facilities and remember home security systems such as a video doorbell as a deterrent.
