'Porch Pirates' as they've come to be known as, have become a nuisance over the years as online shopping has become a popular choice for many Americans.  A retail survey performed by Deloitte Insights found that 83% of consumers in 2017 plan on using their laptop or desktop to purchase items this last quarter.

According to InsuranceQuote.com have reported, 1 and 10 adults have reported that their packages were stolen before they had a chance to see it.

What Can You Do To Secure Your Packages

There are a number of unique technologies that are being developed and that are already available to help prevent porch piracy.  Some measures are better than others, and that's why we have taken a look and made a list of the best methods we think can help save your packages from theft.

Use a Decoy Box - If you're expecting a package, some have found it helpful to leave a fake box on their doorstep filled with something heavy as a decoy.  The idea being that a thief can only carry so much.  If they take the decoy instead of the real packages, you get to keep your items, and they're left with rocks, or bricks, or whatever you decided to stick in there.One man went so far as to create a decoy box with a blank round of ammunition in it, which when
lifted go's off creating a loud noise to deter the thief.

Home Security Measures like Ring Doorbell - You've likely heard of a number of new 'Smart' home security measures like the Ring Video Doorbell for example.  Many of these home security measures work great for recording, and later identifying suspected package thief's to the police, but do little to actually prevent the crime itself.  In fact many of the high-tech package theft prevention systems become a target of their own as some have found out.

Just Let the Delivery Guy In - Amazon has come up with a solution on their own for preventing their customers from dealing with the anxieties of knowing their packages could be sitting at their front doorstep waiting for them, vulnerable to anyone who passes by.  They are calling the program 'Amazon Key', which essentially just allows the delivery person access to your front door so they can leave the package inside your home, rather than on the front porch.  The program records the driver delivering your package, requests access from a designated home owner, and records when they leave.  However there is always going to be some anxiety when it comes to allowing anybody you don't know to enter your home, even if it's just opening the door and sliding a package in.

We may very well start seeing homes that come with large package deposit slots like we see with many banks today.  But until that becomes the norm, we hope you consider what safety measures to take into consideration when ordering packages online.  For more information on how you can stay secure in your home and online, check out our blog for even more great articles!