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12 tips to deter package theft

 

It’s so convenient to buy goods online and have them delivered to our homes. The downside is that it’s also easy for thieves to make off with those unattended packages. Here are some tried and true methods — plus some new ones — you may want to consider to keep your packages out of the hands of porch pirates.

1. Have packages delivered to your place of employment or the address of neighbor or family member whom you know is home.
2. Ask retailers to get a signature upon delivery rather than drop it off when no one is there.
3. Sign up for alerts. Some carriers offer text or email alerts so you know when a delivery will be made and can adjust your schedule accordingly.
4. Many retailers offer in-store package pickup with no shipping fees.
5. Install cameras to allow you to see who is coming and going from your property or speak directly with the delivery person via a video doorbell.
6. Informed Mail Delivery from USPS allows you to digitally preview images of your mail and its location without entering tracking numbers. That way you can be sure to be at home if something important is arriving.
7. Using the UPS My Choice tool, or Delivery Manager from FedEx, you can receive delivery alerts, instruct drivers to leave a package at a back door, with a building superintendent, in a coded lockbox, or with neighbors.
8. UPS will redirect your package to a different location for a fee.
   UPS offers free Access Point locations where you can pick up your packages.
9. Have FedEx deliver your packages to the nearest Walgreens (like 75th Street and Wornall Road) and pick them up there or at a FedEx store at no charge.
10. Instead of having deliveries left unsecured at your front door, have them delivered to a lockbox on your property. Landport and BoxLock, for example, make lockboxes that can be opened using an access code you give to the delivery person.
11. Amazon Lockers are secure, self-service kiosks that allow you to pick up your package at a time that’s convenient for you. The nearest one is at the Whole Food Market in Brookside.
12. Amazon Key In-Car delivery is available to Prime members with select 2015 vehicles and newer models. You can authorize delivery of certain items to your car trunk for free, if the car is located in an area easily accessible to the delivery driver.

More secure package delivery options are being developed all the time. Please share with us what has worked well for you.