Package theft has become a serious issue in pandemic-era America. If you’re ordering gifts online this holiday season, be sure to secure those packages before porch pirates strike.
According to a survey conducted by Safewise, 64.1% of Americans have been a victim of package theft—that’s 214 million packages—in the last 12 months. It’s estimated that more than 3 our of 4 Americans have had packages stolen from them.
So what’s being stolen, exactly? Respondents indicated that 53.9% of the purloined packages were Amazon deliveries. Comparatively, FedEx, USPS, and UPS make up just 35.4% of the total stolen. Most stolen packages are valued between $50 and $200.
Safewise also determined the worst metro cities for package theft in the United States. This year, Denver topped the list. San Francisco came in second after three straight years at the top of the list. Salt Lake City, Seattle, and San Antonio round out the top five.
Other cities that are being hit hard by porch pirates are Austin, Texas; Portland, Oregon; Greenville, South Carolina; Raleigh, North Carolina; and Hartford, Connecticut.
As a result of these thefts, 56% of respondents said they had added a home security system, 46% said they alerted their neighbors, and 3% told their carriers to leave packages in a discreet location. If you’re hoping to avoid getting hit by package theft, there are a few things you can try to better secure your deliveries.
It’s worth noting that 58% of package theft victims said they already had a security camera or video doorbell, and 38% said they used a lockbox or package delivery locker. Even if these measures don’t stop the theft, at least you can sometimes catch who did it—34% said they caught the thief on camera.
