INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) - Black Friday and Cyber Monday are huge shopping days for consumers, but now Package Theft Wednesday is a big day for crooks.
With so many people now ordering their Holiday gifts online, thieves stealing packages off front porches is becoming a growing problem.
Scott Motter, owner of The Mailing Station on Indianapolis' northeast side, offers some shipping suggestions to help prevent your packages from being stolen:
- Sign for your packages. If there's no one home to sign for the package, it won't be left at your home.
- Get your packages delivered to shipping locations like The Mailing Station. Anyone with a secondary mailbox at shipping locations like The Mailing Station can get their packages dropped off for free.
- Show off you home security. If you have a home security system, make sure you have a sign in the front yard. If you have security cameras, make sure potential "porch pirates" know they're there and if you have a doorbell camera, use it.
- Sign up for email notifications. You can get email notifications from FedEx, UPS, and businesses like Amazon and Urban Outfitters to track your package from initial shipment to its final destination.
- Have your packages delivered to your place of business. Make sure your workplace is cool with this, and if they are, it's much safer than having packages delivered to your home.
BONUS TIP: If you are shipping something from your home to your relatives, include a piece of paper inside the package that has your address and the destination address. If the label on the outside of the package gets ripped off, FedEx or UPS can open the package, see the address and still ship it.
