Package Theft and What You Can Do to Stop It 

From glitter bombs as decoy packages to arguably the worst luck a porch pirate could stumble across with stealing a box of tarantulas - the internet is filled with all kinds of stories about package theft. Carriers are even starting to direct their delivery drivers to hide packages when they are delivering them in hopes of lowering their cost of replacement packages. A 2017 report by InsuranceQuotes.com found about 26 million Americans reported a stolen package off their doorstep during the holidays. A separate report by Ring estimated that households had 2.6 packages stolen on average valued at $140. Do a little math, and that would put holiday-season losses due to package theft at more than $3 billion. 

This is something that is affecting people and retailers all over the world without a ton of foolproof options of stopping these thieves.  U.S. Packaging and Wrapping utilized Google Ads to discover each state’s average number of monthly searches for terms such as “package stolen” and ranked each state from lowest rate to highest rate of package theft. As you can see in this map, there aren’t a lot of safe areas from these porch pirates. And these are just from Google search data, which means there are of course many more packages stolen than searches executed.

To give you even more background, here are the top facts that wowed us when it came to the package theft crisis:

• The most common precaution homeowners take to protect their packages is to stay home when expecting a delivery, but a story in USA Today proves that porch pirates may take packages within minutes of arrival by following delivery drivers closely. 
• The victim count jumps to 1 in 3 among Millennials, 60% reporting that they know of someone who has had packages stolen.
• The holiday season is the worst, but respondents of the Ring study confirmed they had packages stolen throughout the entire year.

There are some tips and tricks to stopping these porch pirates. Law enforcement is encouraging the use of security cameras to film the thieves in the act - but that doesn’t necessarily mean the package is returned. The glitter bomb is a great video to laugh at, but not exactly a solution. You can purchase an alarm system on your porch (hopefully your cat doesn’t set it off). Some carriers are even offering going inside your home to deliver the package, you know, incase you want a stranger in your house (not to mention your cat getting out). For those of us with deeper pockets, there are the package drop safes on your porch that cost on average $400-$600+.

Don’t want to spend that much? Us either. Here at Clevermade we are fueled by innovation and making your life simpler. We are thoroughly excited to announce that we have a solution to this crisis now at Costco Warehouses nationwide. Introducing the CleverMade Parcel LockBox, your package's new best friend and your porch pirate's worst nightmare. Our LockBox has a programmable code that can easily be shared with your carriers to ensure your packages get placed inside. Not a Costco Member? Get yours today here!

Sources: Glitter Bomb | Tarantulas | Hide Packages | InsuranceQuotes.com Report | Ring Report | US Packaging and Wrapping Google Ads |  USA Today Story | Security Camera | Going Inside Your Home