Package thieves snatched US$12 billion in goods this year, according to a report released Tuesday by Security.org.
Based on a survey of 11,000 adults in 50 states, the report also noted that one-quarter of American adults have had a package stolen, and 4% (14 million people) suffered a theft within the last three months. The average value of each stolen parcel was $204, meaning nearly $3 billion in e-commerce merchandise was swiped over this past summer, it added.
“America’s thriving economy is pushing ahead, and its robust performance is reflected by continued retail growth, mainly driven by surging e-commerce sales,” the report explained. “Such encouraging signs are a green light for merchants and a beacon for greedy porch pirates.”
“Our survey found that nine out of 10 consumers shop online at least once per month, and half do so weekly,” it continued. “That much activity generates a treasure trove of parcels and millions of possible victims.”
Year over year, package theft is a continual problem, added Security.org Senior Industry Analyst Corie Wagner. “It’s definitely a crime of opportunity, and we see it increase around times when there is more opportunity,” she told the E-Commerce Times.
“When a lot of people started going back to the office after the lockdowns of the pandemic, we saw a surge in package theft rates,” she explained. “And then we see them rise around major shopping occasions, such as the holidays. So we are expecting that during this time of year, package theft is going to increase.”
Organized Package Theft Rings
Package theft is becoming an increasingly serious problem, asserted Jack Berry, president of Security Explorer, a security services broker in Los Angeles.
“This trend could be attributed to the growing reliance on e-commerce for purchases,” he told the E-Commerce Times. “Adding to the problem is the low security among American families, as pointed out by the report, where 42% of the population sometimes leaves their doors unlocked, while around 15% do so even when they are not home. Such negligence makes their homes easy targets for burglars and increases the chances of package theft.”
“Package theft is worsening as online shopping becomes more frequent and convenient,” added Harry Kazakian, founder and CEO of USA Express Legal and Investigative Services, a provider of legal support services in Woodland Hills, Calif.
“The pandemic accelerated this trend, and many people now order multiple packages every week,” he told the E-Commerce Times. “This creates reliable, visible opportunities for thieves, especially the more sophisticated ones who work profitable neighborhoods on a consistent basis — just like kids always seem to know which homes have the best candy at Halloween.”
“Like organized retail crime, package theft has become more sophisticated,” added Suni Shamapande, a principal at PwC, an international professional services company.
“Initially an opportunistic crime, the rise in home deliveries has turned it into a business for some perpetrators,” he told the E-Commerce Times.
Dueling Statistics
After seven years of tracking package theft, it looks like porch piracy may be leveling out, maintained Rebecca Edwards, managing editor and safety expert at SafeWise, a home safety and security company, in Salt Lake City.
SafeWise also keeps tabs on porch piracy, and its numbers are much higher than those of Security.org. “We didn’t see any huge spikes in the number of packages swiped year over year, but the bad news is that loss from package theft is growing — to almost $16 billion,” Edwards told the E-Commerce Times.
“Using our SafeWise proprietary data and national crime statistics, we estimate about 91 million package theft incidents in 2023,” she noted. “That includes incidents where one or more packages were taken, so the total number of individual packages stolen easily tops 120 million. That’s a slight year-over-year increase from 119 to 120 million, but that matches fluctuations in population, so we can safely say that package theft may have reached its zenith.”
One of the challenges of the porch piracy problem is there isn’t any good data on the issue from either the retailers or law enforcement, so we rely on surveys such as these, explained Ed Burnett, former vice president of security and global fraud investigations at United Parcel Service, who is now retired.
“It’s hard to know if the problem is going up or down a whole lot, but it seems to be pretty steady over the last few years,” he told the E-Commerce Times.
Consumers Getting Smarter About Package Theft
Berry advised consumers to be concerned about package theft, especially during the holidays when the volume of deliveries spikes. “Apart from the immediate loss of costly presents or necessary items, package theft comes with the risk of identity fraud,” he explained. “This is because several packages include personal information on their shipping labels, which is a goldmine for fraudsters.”
“This dual threat of financial and identity loss can severely dampen the festive spirit,” he said. “Therefore, heightened awareness and preventive measures are crucial.”
One of the biggest changes Edwards has found this year is that more people are taking action to prevent package theft. “Consumers are getting smarter,” she observed. “Nationwide, just one in four people don’t do anything to deter porch pirates — even though more than half of all Americans told us they worry that they’ll have a package stolen.”
“Those numbers change drastically after someone loses a package — more than eight in 10 added a deterrent after having a package snatched,” she said.
Consumers are also showing more interest in surveillance hardware. Wagner noted Security.org’s survey numbers show 52% of all households — renters and homeowners — have a security camera, compared to 42% in 2023, and 45% have video doorbells, compared to 37% in 2023.
Precautionary Steps To Avoid Porch Piracy
Besides buying security hardware, Melanie McGovern, director of public relations and social media at the International Association of Better Business Bureaus, offers these tips for lowering the risk of becoming a victim of porch pirates:
- Don’t leave packages unattended.
- Ship to store, storefront, or post office box.
- Some online retailers offer delivery to a pickup location within another store that has a physical location near you. Check your delivery options when ordering.
- Require a signature.
- Opt-in to shipping-related emails.
- Set up your own notifications with your smartphone or app to remind you of the date and time of expected delivery.
“Package theft is often an opportunity-driven crime, so the less time a package is visible on the front porch, the better,” Burnett added. “Even something as simple as leaving a note for the delivery person to hide a package behind something on your porch that keeps it from being visible from the street is a great first step.”