Have you ever had a package stolen from your door?

[marylander1940]

This is a great idea for Christmas!

 

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/tunedin/homeowner-sets-up-booby-trap-for-porch-pirates-stealing-packages/vi-BBGKRD0?ocid=spartandhp

[+ sync]

If I wanted such a device to remain effective, I don't believe I would divulge its harmless nature to the audience of the internet.

[LaffingBear]

Don't think so. But Ive had people tell me they've left items at my door, and I never find them.

 

I'm also using the Nextdoor app. Package theft is one of the most prevalent topics. My neighbors post vids from their doorbell cams, security cams, etc., all showing crooks in action.

 

We live in times with very bizarre, illogical rules. I cant believe those booby traps wont backfire. My career required exposure to some liability training... and I recall a presentation where the speaker showed us

• A moron who put a parachute in a laundromat dryer, and when it caused a fire, he sued the laundromat and won
  
• A crook, who, while making his getaway across a rooftop, fell through a skylight, sued, and won.
  
• The homeowner booby-trapping his front door, rigging a shotgun, then arrested when it worked on a burglar.
  

Someone is going to reach for one of those booby-trapped packages, be startled, fall and hit their head, sue the homeowner, and win. Booby-trapped packages aren't legitimate deliveries...they're set out as lures. It's not worth it.

[marylander1940]

If I wanted such a device to remain effective, I don't believe I would divulge its harmless nature to the audience of the internet.

 

I think it's a crime of opportunity, I also think some of this thieves will wonder if next time the explosive might be stronger. I'm sure in Texas you have the right to shoot them. LOL

[samhexum]

No. To be honest... I've taken one.

 

When I was in college, I had a job delivering bundles of newspapers to kids who had delivery routes, plus I had one route myself. One day I was in an apartment building and somebody had a small package in front of their door & I took it (I don't know why I did it).

 

The big surprise was what was inside... a gay porn video! It was the classic The Bigger The Better.

 

• Aww, nuts!
   
  A New Jersey family’s holiday spirit was crushed when a thief swiped all the expensive chocolates from a “treat table” they’d put out for delivery people through the Christmas season.
   
  But when they set a trap to catch the Grinchy crook in the act, they discovered it was actually a comically obese squirrel — and the sticky-fingered vermin’s criminal capers ended up stealing their hearts as well.
   
  “We spot the FATTEST squirrel. I mean, this squirrel is so obese — a jolly ol’ chap — he must be prepping for a decade of winters,” Maplewood mom Michele Bourdreaux wrote in a blog post about the bizarre saga.
   
  “This squirrel went from being the biggest jerk ever to becoming the greatest fuzzy freak I’ve ever not quite met.
   
  Bourdreaux explained that she and her clan set up an a elaborate display of treats outside their Maplewood home for delivery workers coming by — and this year’s display included Carmex lip balm, Ghirardelli chocolates, tissues, hand warmers and other snacks.
   
  But within hours of setting up this year’s spread Monday, all of the chocolate was gone.
   
  “I couldn’t believe it. Why would someone do such a thing?” the mother of three wrote.
   
  “This thief took the good stuff. And I wanted to cry.”
   
  Bourdreaux and her “surveillance nerd” hubby Tony put up cameras to catch the chocolate thief — but the footage revealed the surprising, and adorable, culprit.
   
  They put the chocolate in a squirrel-proof container and left some nuts and bird seeds for the rodent — but the fuzzy fiend just keeps coming back for the good stuff, and has since gnawed through Ricola candies, spearmint gum, chocolate covered pretzels, bags of popcorn and run off with Carmex lip balm, Bourdreaux told The Post.
   
  “He looks directly at us, completely and totally brazen, its very bizarre,” she said.
   
  The Bourdreaux’s favorite bandit isn’t the only squirrel terrorizing Jersey residents — one managed to destroy a popular holiday light display in Sea Girt last week.
  
  

Edited December 20, 2017 by samhexum

[OCClient]

My dog invaded a picnic site down at the river when the two guys were off in the weeds. Anything left out was his, he thought.

[Bearofdistinction]

I'm from Baltimore. You just expect it here.

 

LOL Im from Philly -- Same Here!

[LoveNDino]

LOL Im from Philly -- Same Here!

What?!!?

[Bearofdistinction]

Self EDITED

[Bearofdistinction]

What?!!?

 

What? What??

[LoveNDino]

What? What??

Sorry. I guess I take it for granted. I’ve never had to worry about my amazon packages ever...

[rvwnsd]

Sorry. I guess I take it for granted. I’ve never had to worry about my amazon packages ever...

Although I don't worry about package theft or expect it to occur, I'm aware that it happens.

 

I'm in the process of working with UPS on a missing package. The tracker states it was "Released -other." They can't explain what that is supposed to mean, as the tracker states "left in office" when they leave at the office and "left at door" when they leave it at the front door. I suspect they either delivered it to the wrong address or misplaced it.

[Bearofdistinction]

Sorry. I guess I take it for granted. I’ve never had to worry about my amazon packages ever...

 

Since Amazons Biz has exploded and they offer next day service -they are using local courier services. I had two related packages being delivered from the same order, one in a cardboard box the other in the manufacturers packaging showing that it was audio equipment ---- Guess which box did not get delivered? I was home and asked the driver and he hemmed and hawed and um'ed Finally NO JUST THE ONE ----

 

Im sure he is enjoying my bookshelf stereo system --- and that was the last one! When it came back into stock it was $50 more -- even though Amazon admitted it was there fault -- no discount!

[LoveNDino]

I am truly jealous! Whenever I get a shipping notification saying that a package has been left at my doorstep, I get nervous. My neighborhood is a mixture of old families who have been there for decades (who are great), and local college kids (who often aren't). It's the latter group I fear!

 

Since Amazons Biz has exploded and they offer next day service -they are using local courier services. I had two related packages being delivered from the same order, one in a cardboard box the other in the manufacturers packaging showing that it was audio equipment ---- Guess which box did not get delivered? I was home and asked the driver and he hemmed and hawed and um'ed Finally NO JUST THE ONE ----

 

Im sure he is enjoying my bookshelf stereo system --- and that was the last one! When it came back into stock it was $50 more -- even though Amazon admitted it was there fault -- no discount!

I'm sorry to hear these...I've never had a package stolen ever.

Edited December 20, 2017 by LoveNDino

[rvwnsd]

Since Amazons Biz has exploded and they offer next day service -they are using local courier services. I had two related packages being delivered from the same order, one in a cardboard box the other in the manufacturers packaging showing that it was audio equipment ---- Guess which box did not get delivered? I was home and asked the driver and he hemmed and hawed and um'ed Finally NO JUST THE ONE ----

 

Im sure he is enjoying my bookshelf stereo system --- and that was the last one! When it came back into stock it was $50 more -- even though Amazon admitted it was there fault -- no discount!

I am NOT a fan of Amazon's delivery service. Have to say that a lot of the delivery people in my area are rather sketchy-looking. On three separate occasions I received a text that they could not access my location (I live in a gated apartment complex) and each time I have reminded them that they can deliver at the front office.

 

PS: I "liked" your post because I empathize with you, not because I'm glad your bookshelf stereo system was taken by the delivery guy was lost in shipping.

[bigvalboy]

I've never had a package stolen, but then again, I always make sure that I will be home on the day of delivery (thankfully I have that option) and the complex is keypad controlled, which helps.

[mmk123]

I ma lucky that if I ever order a package that I have it delivered to my place of work. It is pretty much guarantee that I will get it and if it is delivered on a day I am off then I can get it when I am in the next day.

[+ BlueSky]

Yes I had a package go missing just recently. It contained some clothes I ordered. My complex has package lockers so I just assumed that's where it would be left: locked up safe and sound till I got home. But they left it outside my door at like 9 in the morning. So not only was it just out there for anyone to take, it was 8 or 9 hours until I could get home to get it....but it was gone by then. I get stuff shipped to me at work now unless it's sex toys or something...

[rvwnsd]

In a previous post I related the recent experience with Amazon Locker in which Amazon could not tell me where the package was despite me having received texts stating the package had been routed from Phoenix to three other cities. I cancelled the order.

[samhexum]

Um...that would've been MINE! No worries, I can see it on the Internet any time I want, and I moved from that apartment long, long ago.

 

Oh yeah, where?

[Nvr2Thick]

In my neighborhood it's common for thieves to follow the UPS and FedEx trucks. Packages are often stolen from porches within minutes of delivery.

 

As doorbell cameras and porch security cameras have become more commonplace we've seen quite a few more identifiable neighbors caught in the act.

 

So many issues and permutations though:

UPS and FedEx used to knock and wait for a human to accept delivery, and leave a parcel notice when a recipient was unavailable at the driver's discretion. Now leaving the package at the porch is SOP unless the sender pays for a required signature on delivery, and some drivers have been known to fake the signature and leave the package. Drivers have their performance measured with tracking software connected to their signature pads and GPS. If a GPS indicates a delay at a destination it can affect the drivers' performance metrics and they can lose out on performance incentive bonuses. I've noticed that Amazon drivers take a picture of the package where they left it, and that picture is available when the package is tracked online. I've been home from work waiting on packages several times, and I've observed drivers "gently tossing" packages to my porch from the sidewalk 5-10 feet away. If I'm not watching the porch from my front window I'll miss the delivery. I had a friend who waited all day for a package, which was dropped on his porch during the five minutes he stepped away from his front room to go to the bathroom. He checked the porch when he was done, and caught a thief walking off with the package. I watched as a FedEx driver stopped in front of my house, presumably with a "signature required" package I had been waiting on, and then drove away without leaving the truck. Later the tracking app noted that no one was home to receive the package, even though I was waiting by the door. I'm told that drivers will do this when they're running behind schedule or when they don't feel like carrying a larger package to the door only to find out that they have to put it back on the truck. My mail carriers have been the most responsible, placing packages out of the line of sight from the street and knocking as they leave.

 

There has been a lot of discussion on local social media groups about how to deal with package thieves. Police are way too understaffed to set up sting operations. Booby traps are often discussed, but the liability issues @LaffingBear has mentioned discourage those who think these things through. I have a neighbor who used to set up false packages loaded with old newspapers and magazines -- until someone littered his front yard with old newspapers and magazines. For some of us having a packaged delivered to work is not an option. My company's office services department agreed to give up one FTE if a company policy was established forbidding personal packages in the mail room.

[samhexum]

A Utah family was left in shock when a little boy's anti-rejection kidney medicine was stolen from their porch.

 

Cody Taylor, a single father from Riverdale, has had his 4-year-old son Austin's medication delivered to their home for years.

 

Taylor said he never faced a problem, until last week when someone swiped the packages from his porch.

 

"Somebody stole my son's medication delivery," Taylor posted in a Riverdale City Citizens Facebook group. "If it was just a present I would be frustrated but would count it as a loss. It's his 90 day supply of antirejection meds."

 

 

Austin, who was born with several birth defects, has been battling stage 5 kidney failure since he was born. He underwent a kidney transplant when he was 2 and takes the medicine so his body doesn't reject the organ.

 

Taylor said the stolen packages contained a three-month supply of the life-saving medication and totaled around $5,000.

 

"He's my little miracle. He's my hero. Because of everything he's gone through, I can't complain about life," Taylor told Fox 13.

 

"He's so strong and always fighting."

 

Taylor was worried his insurance wouldn't cover the cost to replace the medication and was ready to take out a loan to pay for it.

 

In an update on his Facebook post, however, he said the insurance company contacted him and said they would handle it.

 

While the family is relieved Austin will be able to get his medication, Taylor is still upset someone snatched the packages.

 

"You don't know who you're hurting by your actions. It could range from ruining someone's Christmas to threatening someone's life," he said. "You just never know."

 

After hearing about Austin's story, a company called The Porch Locker donated a lock box for the medicine to be delivered to so it doesn't happen again.

[+ bashful]

Re OP's original question "Have you ever had a package stolen from your door?"

 

Not every package "delivered" may have been stolen. Don't know if others have experienced this, but Amazon occasionally leaves packages at our condo building addressed to other homes/buildings. I'm betting the delivery person scans it, Amazon thinks it's delivered, not knowing it's delivered to the wrong address.