minor theft

[tonyturley]

I was expecting a couple of parcels from Amazon yesterday, and tracking showed they arrived at my front door at 1009 local. They were nowhere to be seen when I arrived home. My wife never saw them, my neighbors never saw them, they were not in the bushes, on the back porch, nowhere. I talked to the local postal supervisor, and he said GPS showed the carrier was sitting at the end of my driveway when they were scanned. While I have not been so keen on the service delivery of this particular carrier, I can't imagine scanning the parcels and not walking the 80 feet to my door, and the carrier could even drive up to my garage and reduce that walk to 20 feet. I spoke to the same supervisor this morning, and he seemed very uncomfortable talking to me. He said he showed the carrier our house on Google Street View, and she supposedly claimed she remembered our house and exactly where she placed the parcels. I just got the vibe that the guy on the phone wasn't being straight with me. He did offer that parcel theft has never been a known issue in our community, although I guess that could be changing.

The total value wasn't high, and Amazon has already issued me a refund, but that's not the only issue. My wife and I and several other people on our street have ordered online a lot. No one's ever had a problem until now. There's no way to know if we are now being targeted, if this was a one-off - or if the parcels were actually delivered. There are no security cameras that will tell us. It was probably a waste of time, but I filed mail theft complaints for both items with USPS. I'm usually a pretty good at picking up voice inflections and body language, and my conversation with the USPS guy this morning just seemed . . . off. I'll just have to keep a close eye on this situation.

 

[davect01]

Security Cameras. They won't directly stop the theft but can be a deterrent and evidence afterward.

Sorry man

 

[Luke]

An idea I've had is to have a large-ish lockable delivery box by the front door. When I am expecting a package, I leave it unlocked (with a simple unlocked padlock with it) and ask the delivery driver to place the parcel in the delivery box and close the lock. It's a shame that this is what the world is coming to, but it is what it is.

 

[Richard]

Wait until the local kids discover the fun you can have with an unlocked and unattended padlock ...

 

[Larry T]

I have a doorbell security camera. I've never lost a package, but I did see footage of a girl walking up on our porch, looking straight at the doorbell, covering her face, and leaving. My wife had several packages delivered that day, without an obvious security device visible, I doubt that she would have gotten her wares.

 

[donlaw]

I have not had a package from amazon gone missing. But our family has started using the amazon locker locations. Very easy to swing by and pick it up at your convenience. Check to see if there is one close to your location.

 

[tonyturley]

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to look into both the doorbell security camera and the Amazon locker, although I live in a small metro area and the second may not be an option.

 

[davect01]

I have not had a package from amazon gone missing. But our family has started using the amazon locker locations. Very easy to swing by and pick it up at your convenience. Check to see if there is one close to your location.

Post Office boxes work as well

Thanks for the replies. I'm going to look into both the doorbell security camera and the Amazon locker, although I live in a small metro area and the second may not be an option.

Love our Ring security setup. One doorbell, two exterior floodlights.

A Post Office box also works if you get regular deliveries.

 

[Bobby T]

Sorry to hear of your troubles. A friend of mine had this happen and she left a package full of dirty kitty litter on her porch. Which was stolen also. But she hasn’t a problem since.

 

[Covey22]

PO Boxes can be tough. Some places and sellers will not deliver to them for fear of loss through Mail Fraud.

 

[Jock Elliott]

I was expecting a couple of parcels from Amazon yesterday, and tracking showed they arrived at my front door at 1009 local. They were nowhere to be seen when I arrived home. My wife never saw them, my neighbors never saw them, they were not in the bushes, on the back porch, nowhere. I talked to the local postal supervisor, and he said GPS showed the carrier was sitting at the end of my driveway when they were scanned. While I have not been so keen on the service delivery of this particular carrier, I can't imagine scanning the parcels and not walking the 80 feet to my door, and the carrier could even drive up to my garage and reduce that walk to 20 feet. I spoke to the same supervisor this morning, and he seemed very uncomfortable talking to me. He said he showed the carrier our house on Google Street View, and she supposedly claimed she remembered our house and exactly where she placed the parcels. I just got the vibe that the guy on the phone wasn't being straight with me. He did offer that parcel theft has never been a known issue in our community, although I guess that could be changing.

The total value wasn't high, and Amazon has already issued me a refund, but that's not the only issue. My wife and I and several other people on our street have ordered online a lot. No one's ever had a problem until now. There's no way to know if we are now being targeted, if this was a one-off - or if the parcels were actually delivered. There are no security cameras that will tell us. It was probably a waste of time, but I filed mail theft complaints for both items with USPS. I'm usually a pretty good at picking up voice inflections and body language, and my conversation with the USPS guy this morning just seemed . . . off. I'll just have to keep a close eye on this situation.

The Spanish have a phrase for this: El sucko baddo.

Cheers, Jock

 

[tonyturley]

I had Amazon send replacements. Got them today. Nothing earth shattering, but apparently porch skimming is a big problem in some neighborhoods in our metro area. The USPS postmaster told me it hasn't been a problem in our own area. I got a follow-up call from one of the local employees the day after I filed electronic mail theft reports with USPS. He seemed to be surprised I filed the report.