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How to avoid porch pirates amid skyrocketing package thefts

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – While the holidays are in full swing, it’s also the time of year for shoppers to be wary of another Grinch: Porch pirate season.

According to a 2022 SafeWise survey, the top three metro cities where porch pirates strike are: San Francisco; Seattle, Washington and Austin, Texas.

These cities are followed by Hartford, Connecticut; Sacramento, California; Los Angeles; Portland, Oregon; Fresno, California; Milwaukie, Wisconsin; and New Orleans, Louisiana.

While package thefts aren’t new, the company says these crimes are on the rise.

In 2021, around 260 million packages disappeared from porches across the United States — an increase by 50 million packages from the year prior, according to SafeWise.

SafeWise warns these crimes also come with a price tag, costing Americans over $19 billion in 2021.

“Package theft can happen anywhere, but it is a crime of opportunity, and the suburbs are kind of designed for package thieves because you’ve got stand-alone houses kind of lined up in a row,” Rebecca Edwards of SafeWise said. “We found that homes that are within 25-feet of a street, get hit most often.”

As far as preventing packages thefts, Edwards recommends being proactive and signing up for package delivery alerts, requiring a signature for delivery — so packages aren’t left on the porch– or installing doorbell cameras to try to scare away thieves.