How can you avoid being a victim to Package Thieves and prevent Package Theft?

Package thieves strike, regardless of it being a peak season or not. If you are one of those unlucky shoppers, eagerly awaiting the delivery of your online packages, having a phone notification that says your packages have arrived but find nothing on your doorstep then consider yourself a victim of package theft.

Package thieves or porch pirates as they are commonly known lurk stealthily around premises where they can easily lay their hands on unattended packages and swipe off with them.

A crime of opportunity, package theft can be avoided by having the delivery agent place the parcel somewhere it cannot be seen. However, getting an unguarded package out of the equation is not a solution.

All about package storage services by Stowfly in this blog.

Delivery companies are trying to combat the problem in a variety of ways:

• Amazon allows customers to track their orders to be prepared for deliveries and even offers store pick-up options. In addition, Amazon has lockers where packages can be picked up and also gives its Prime members the option to have packages placed inside secure locations like their garage by Amazon drivers.
• UPS and FedEx allow customers to delay package deliveries if they are not available during delivery or divert packages to other pickup locations, either for free or with a fee.
• USPS recommends customers sign up for the free service "Informed Delivery" at usps.com. This service enables customers to see package details and tracking history. Using this, recipients can either leave special delivery instructions for their carrier or schedule a redelivery for another day.

What should you do if you have had a package stolen?

• Contact the retailer either to replace or initiate a refund for the stolen item.
• Get in touch with the carrier or shipping company to file a claim to report your missing package.
• Check if you have any package protection benefits by reaching out to your credit card company.
• Finally, contact the local police to see if they can help locate your package and prevent more thefts in your area.

With online shopping becoming more of a norm, some major drawbacks that come along with the convenience cannot be overlooked. The added risk of packages getting stolen when delivered to your doorsteps is something that needs to be prevented.

Package theft and porch piracy are growing problems. A few solutions need to be in place to be able to safeguard your packages. Some of them are:

• Installing video doorbell cameras- Security cameras these days can send you notifications on your phone in case any audio or motion is detected. Some of them are equipped with night vision, giving you 24/7 video coverage.
• Package tracking applications - Digital tracking applications can help recipients see the whereabouts of their items and find out the package’s last known location.
• Package lockboxes provide maximum security by hiding your delivered items from plain sight. Some can be operated with a key and others need to be coordinated via access to only you and the delivery agent.
• Promptly pick up your packages immediately after they are delivered.
• Putting up faux signs to advertise your security system to scare off package thieves can help reduce the number of stolen packages from your porch.
• Package receiving services- Making use of package receiving and package acceptance services can instantly solve the issue as packages will no longer be delivered to your doorsteps. Making use of these services as your secondary address is a secure way to receive your packages without the risk of them getting stolen or lost.

Package receiving and package acceptance services by Stowfly is an all-in-one solution to prevent all kinds of last-foot package delivery problems other than porch piracy like Amazon missed deliveries, USPS missed packages, FedEx stolen packages and UPS lost packages as well.

Package acceptance services have physical locations in the form of either a convenience store or a restaurant near you with location partners who are vetted and verified to manage your parcels effectively. You can always pick up your online deliveries from them whenever it is convenient for you.

A $1000 insurance policy is also offered per package and rentals start at $4. All your online packages are now going to be safely delivered to Stowfly package receiving and package acceptance locations. You can forget all about your package woes hereafter!!

More details on how to deal with missed deliveries and missed packages in this blog.