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With delivery companies frequently leaving boxes outside houses without ringing a bell, opportunist thieves steal packages from doorsteps. So how do you ensure your parcel deliveries are left in a safe place and not on your doormat?
1Contact the Courier or Supplier
Most delivery companies let you customize delivery preferences if you create an account. While I’m skeptical about having too many online accounts, profiles on FedEx, UPS, etc., mean you can add notes about the best places for couriers to leave anything you order online.
You can leave details of a safe space to hide packages and add any door or locker codes, meaning only you and the delivery company can gain access. If you add private codes to your online profile, it’s worth changing those codes occasionally for added security.
Sometimes, who’s responsible for missing packages is ambiguous. If you nominate a hiding spot, some couriers suggest you’re accepting responsibility, so dig into the terms and conditions before doing this.
2Have Deliveries Left Out of Sight From the Road
This isn’t the sort of theft that’s planned, per se. A thief might see a package outside your door, waiting for you to get home or notice it’s there, and decide to steal it instead. That’s why your safe place designed for couriers to leave deliveries must be hidden from the road.
This is such a simple thing, but it can cut down on package thefts by a huge amount. If people can’t see a delivery waiting for you, they won’t know to steal it. So for me, that means leaving it in a porch. A sticker on the mailbox asks couriers to leave any packages in there, so if a store uses a company that doesn’t allow personalized instructions, it won’t matter too much.
3Don’t Choose an Obvious Hiding Place
So where should you choose?
Admittedly, our porch does have a window, so it might not be considered ideal. However, it’s not a huge window and is higher up, so any would-be burglars would need to get close to the house to see if there’s anything of interest within. They’re unlikely to do that because, obviously, there’s an increased risk of getting caught by either myself, my family members, or neighbors who would be suspicious of strangers.
Your garage could be useful for hiding deliveries, depending on what else it contains. If it contains high-value items, these are more attractive than your packages! We also have a small hut to hide the trash cans and recycling boxes. Some couriers like to hide boxes in or around the cans, offering further protection and hiding them from the road.
4Find a Lockable Solution
Whatever other steps you may take, there are some particularly expensive items you wouldn’t be happy to leave in the trash or on your porch. Let’s say you’ve got a new smartphone being delivered, but one that doesn’t need to be signed for. There’s no way you’d risk it being left somewhere it could be stolen. In such cases, it’s best to find a lockable personal solution. This might be a PO Box or locker.
One of themost dependable options is Amazon Lockers. These boxes are private, so only you and the courier can access them. You don’t give your home address to every delivery person. Not all packages are eligible, but parcel boxes are a good idea for anything else. They act similarly but can be rented or bought and fixed in place at your residence.
Obviously, you just need to make sure the courtier has all the details required to leave your package securely in your lockable box.
5Make Sure There’s Surveillance
Some delivery firms nonetheless ignore instructions and leave packages on your door mat. What do you do?
Your best bet is to get some form of surveillance. And for many, myself included, that means a doorbell with a camera and motion sensor. It’ll ping your smartphone whenever someone comes to your door. Some allow you to speak directly to whoever is there (depending on your internet connection), but others will mean you’re able to check when packages are left for you.
And then, of course, you’ll be able to see footage of anyone else who takes note of your delivery or, indeed, steals it. You might recognize them. You more than likely won’t, however. Either way, you can go to local law enforcement services for support and demonstrate to your courier that it was stolen.
In many cases, though, thieves won’t bother if they see a security camera trained on your doorstep—even a fake one! You mustconsider many factors when buying a security camera, but they can ultimately be worth it.
6Use Motion Sensor Lights
In the winter or fall, when the nights creep in earlier, thieves can rely on darkness to hide their activities. That’swhy a motion-sensitive lightis useful.
We’ve got some near our front door and driveway and further sensor lights in the backyard. They’re an extra layer of home security and help combat package theft: if a courier comes late in the day, we’re alerted to their presence by the lights coming on. If we forget to check or are too busy to go straight to the door, we’re alerted again by the lights if any opportunistic thieves were to come up the driveway.
If you’ve got a security camera, an extra light could mean identification, too.
7Leave Packages With a Trusted Neighbor
If all else fails, you can rely on other people. Simply leave a note for couriers to send packages to a trustworthy neighbor. And tell them that you’ve done this so they’re not surprised by a huge delivery arriving while you’re at work.
This is my favorite step to combat package thefts. I’m lucky enough to live in a close-knit community, so we can rely on each other to take parcels in on our behalf. I’ll do it for my neighbors, and they’ll do it for me. It also gives us a chance to chat when we pick up a delivery.
Of course, this isn’t always possible. Sometimes, neighbors are at work or on vacation, so the other options are useful. Nevertheless, in most cases, this is fine and means I’ve not had any packages stolen for many years…
