HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) – More people could be doing their holiday shopping online this year, because we’re in the coronavirus pandemic which could mean more packages at front doors.
The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office has a few tips to help prevent your package from being stolen this holiday season.
“The idea is that we can’t stop it completely, but what we can do is make it more difficult and less inviting for people to take stuff off of porches,” Hamilton County Sgt. Robin Langford said.
It’s not uncommon this time of year for criminals to look for an opportunity to try to take something that was delivered to you.
“We have a heavy influx of stolen packages. Most of them are taken off of porches and out of mailboxes,” Sgt. Langford said.
He said that one issue they have is that people simply forget about the package that they had delivered to themselves and as it sits there on the porch folks will drive by, see it and take it.
“Probably the number one thing is monitor your tracking number, watch it, stay on top of it, know when your package is going to get delivered,” Sgt. Langford said.
If you aren’t going to be home, he said to either have a trusted neighbor grab it or put a hold on it and pick it up at a facility.
He also recommends having your package delivered to your work.
“If the employer doesn’t mind packages being delivered there, personal packages, that’s probably one of the best options there is,” Sgt. Langford said.
If your package is missing, he said that folks should start by making a police report.
“Check with the company which you purchased it from or the delivery company. See if you can get verification that the package was actually delivered. See if there’s insurance. When you purchase something, it’s sometimes a good idea to get insurance on it especially if it’s a high value item that way if it does end up disappearing for whatever reason, gets lost in the system or gets stolen, there’s some compensation for that package,” Sgt. Langford said.
He also suggests not putting boxes from stuff like TVs out by the road.
Displaying what you may have could potentially make you a target.
