WASHINGTON — The increasing prevalence of online shopping means that a lot more packages are being left on a lot more doorsteps, particularly during the holiday season. And that leads to a lot of packages being stolen.
The word from InsuranceQuotes.com is that an estimated 23 million Americans have had packages taken from their porches.
“Yes, many thieves don’t have anything better to do than to follow delivery trucks around town to see what kind of bountiful packages they’ll be leaving at the doorsteps of homes,” personal and home security specialist Robert Siciliano says in a statement.
“This means even more crooks simply drive around residential areas during the holidays looking for boxes sitting outside of doors. These crooks will simply walk off with the packages.”
His advice? Whenever possible, get packages delivered to a place where you know someone’s there — a neighbor’s house, or, if your boss doesn’t mind, at your workplace. If the retailer lets you set a specific delivery time, pick a time when you know you’ll be home.
Also, he suggests signing up to get delivery alerts on your smartphone, which most retailers offer — that way, when you get a notification that a package has arrived, you can ask a neighbor to take it in. You might want to think about a security camera — even a fake one will help, Siciliano says.
Even then, be careful — burglaries go up about 11 percent during the holidays, InsuranceQuotes.com says.
That’s not the only hazard that comes into play on the holidays, InsuranceQuotes.com says. Indeed, while holidays are typically a joyous time, it’s surprising how many dangers are lurking.
Based on the survey, they estimate that 7 million Americans have had a guest who suffered an injury; 16 million have been through a cooking fire and 2 million have had house fires caused by Christmas trees or other holiday decorations.
The survey, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International, polled 1,000 American adults.
