Grinches May Try to Steal Holiday Packages. Here’s How to Stop Them
BUPD offers tips on how to thwart yuletide thieves
Be a good neighbor and move holiday packages from unsecured foyers to inside the locked part of the building. Photo unsplash/Dan Dennis
Beware—“Porch Pirates” May Try to Steal Your Holiday Packages
BUPD offers tips on how to thwart yuletide thieves
- BUPD is warning students to guard against holiday package thieves
- Best tip: put neighbors’ deliveries inside locked part of building
- Consider shipping packages to Amazon storage, not your home
It’s the time of year for gift-giving. And sadly, for gift-taking, by “porch pirates,” who snatch holiday packages from unlocked building vestibules.
The Boston University Police Department is offering its annual yuletide tip: have those gifts shipped to a safer, secured location. And if you see a neighbor’s package left in the open, be a good citizen and put it inside the building’s locked area.
In the past, South Campus especially has been a target for thieves, and “we still think that those areas are a little bit more at risk” this year, BUPD Captain Anastasios Giannopoulos says. “We are [deploying] plainclothes officers for a variety of things, one being packages, one being bikes and scooters,” he says, as the department has done in past years. “We have plainclothes officers—actually right now as we speak, they’re out there—monitoring areas like South Campus and other high-volume areas” for thieves.
We have plainclothes officers—actually right now as we speak, they’re out there—monitoring areas like South Campus and other high-volume areas.
So far this season, there have been no reported package thefts. “I hate to jinx us, but our officers have been proactive, along with all the great messages and assistance from the community,” BUPD Lieutenant Lawrence Cuzzi says.
Last year, thieves stole a reported six packages, half as many as the dozen stolen in 2020 and a drop from the 14 that occurred in 2019.
Some additional package-protection advice from the BUPD:
- If you won’t be home when a package is scheduled to be delivered, consider rescheduling or rerouting the delivery through the company’s tracking service to a more secure location.
- You can arrange for packages to be sent to Amazon pickup facilities, where lockers keep items safe, rather than to your apartment. One such facility is on campus, at 870 Commonwealth Ave.; you can check Amazon’s locker locator here to see if there are more convenient sites near you.
- Ask a trusted friend to pick up the package for you.
- Check if your neighbors saw a missing package or held onto it for you.
- If you have renter’s insurance, it might cover stolen packages.
- The gift buyer might be able to use the purchase protection features on their credit card, or contact the retailer for a refund.
- File a claim with the shipping company. You also can report theft to the BUPD at 617-353-2110.
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