Watch your packages! Millions of Americans have had mail looted from their front doors by “porch pirates” in the year 2022, per a new report by the New York Post.
Estimations have concluded that at least 260 million packages have been stolen during the year.
Fox News Digital spoke with a retired police officer who offered advice for Americans who want to make sure they do not miss out on their holiday deliveries.
Former Austin, Texas police officer Dennis Farris, who now serves as president of the Austin Police Retired Officers Association, suggested that porch pirates can be countered with the “Amazon Key” system, which gives an Amazon delivery employee the ability to place a parcel inside the garage.
“It’s a one-time code and it alerts you when the garage doors open and alerts you when the garage door’s closed,” explained Farris. “It only works one time and then the next time it would be a different code, so it’s not like the guy that’s delivering your package could just come back.”
Users across social media have posted numerous videos showcasing different recordings of alleged porch pirates in action.
One video shared in response to the New York Post’s report on the epidemic showed a man demanding somebody “open[s] this f***in door” before he “bust[s] this s*** down.” The man then proceeds to shake his rear end toward the camera.
I caught this porch pirate on my Ring. This country is spiraling out of control under Biden https://t.co/tYu04KXWMD pic.twitter.com/mqBMlUPQgo
— ฿|₳₵₭ ₴₩₳₦ (@BSwan033) December 21, 2022
Other suggestions put forth by Farris included placing a lock box in front of the house that uses a one-time access code that the customer can relay to the expected deliveryman.
“Most people get packages that are relatively small, so you can get a small lockable box that you could put on your front porch and put a combination lock on it and in the delivery instructions you can say there’s a lock box on the front porch and put down the combination,” said Farris. “That’s labor-intensive, but it’s something to keep your stuff secure. That’s one of the ways to do it.”
The former police officer ultimately said that the only somewhat guaranteed method of making sure one’s package does not get stolen is by using a secondary location such as one with an Amazon digital locker.
“The only foolproof way to keep your packages from getting stolen is using a secondary location that you have to have a code to open the locker of,” the former police officer asserted. “That’s realistically the only way not to get your stuff stolen.”
