5 Ways To Stop Porch Pirates In Forsyth County

CUMMING, GA — Online shopping has reached an all-time high due to the coronavirus pandemic as package thieves gear up for the holiday season in Forsyth County and across the country.

Forsyth County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer Stacie Miller said to deter package thefts, deputies show a heavy presence conducting neighborhood patrols during the holiday season.

"We also put out several PSA’s regarding steps our citizens can take to protect themselves from becoming a victim of this crime," Miller said. "We see the increased numbers of this type of crime during the holiday season as much as our neighboring jurisdictions. Unfortunately, it is a crime of opportunity and usually takes only a couple of seconds."

Miller said the department advises the community to have deliveries sent to their place of business or designate a trusted neighbor/family member who is home to receive the delivery of any packages. The pandemic has helped in this sense as many people are still working from home.

"Since more people are working from home due to the pandemic, hopefully, it will limit the number of opportunities for this type of crime," Miller said. "The pandemic has not changed the approach from a local law enforcement perspective."

More than 5.5 million Americans have been victimized by package thefts over the past year, according to Finder, a personal finance comparison website, in a study released in November.

About $5.4 billion worth of items were stolen in package thefts from November 2019 to November 2020, the Finder determined.

Because of the busy online shopping month of December, that number is likely to grow by the end of the year.

Fewer people were in the nation's malls on Black Friday, and Cyber Monday is expected to become the busiest online shopping day of all time when all sales are totaled, according to The Associated Press.

Overall holiday season sales in 2020 are expected to rise 0.9 percent, with a 36 percent jump in online sales, a study by the research company eMarketer shows.

Porch pirates could see a prime opportunity to take advantage of the expected spike in packages left at front doors.

They usually get away with it, too. Only 11 percent of victims said the culprits were caught, according to a 2019 study by C+R Research.

Who Steals A Package?

Men are found to be more likely to be both package thieves and victims of the crime, according to the Finder study. With 5.29 percent of men admitting having stolen a package compared with 0.85 percent of women, men are more than 500 percent more likely to be package thieves than women, the study found.

Seventeen percent of men say a package of theirs was stolen during the past year, compared with 11 percent for women.

Still, 86 percent of the nearly 2,000 participants in the study said they have not experienced a package theft since this time last year.

Prevention Tips

Here are five tips Finder shared to help Americans keep from becoming a victim of a package theft:

• Try curbside pickup: Drive to the store; most of them offer curbside pickup options.
• Use a post office box: This will ensure the package is handled by a professional at the Canton post office.
• Video surveillance: Doorbell cameras such as Ring can allow homeowners to scare away the thief in real time.
• Require a signature: This way, the package cannot go unattended.
• Have it sent to your workplace: Public places typically have a greater chance of using security cameras.