Texas Is The Worst For This Type Of Holiday Thief; How To Protect Your Purchases

December is a crazy time of year. There's so much shopping that gets done from decorations to gifts. My porch has become a revolving door of deliveries from FedEx, UPS, and USPS. Every day packages are waiting for me when I get home, and I'm not alone. A lot of us are this way. If you live in Texas, you might want to take steps to protect your packages. We're the worst in the country when it comes to porch pirates.

Take Steps To Protect Your Deliveries In Texas

It's a problem that plagues us year-round, but it gets even worse around the holiday season. We place orders online, and those orders get delivered in the middle of the afternoon. While we're working, our packages sit out in the open; an easy target for porch pirates. These porch pirates won't think twice about strolling up to your porch and walking off with whatever is on it.

The data team at The Action Network recently crunched the numbers to find out which state is the worst when it comes to porch pirates, and they found out that Texas is the state where porch pirates strike the most. According to their findings, 5% of Texans have been the victim of porch pirates in the last three months. In 2023, Texas had 12,529 instances of "larceny-theft from a residence or home". These two stats played a big role in putting us at the top of the list.

How To Protect Your Deliveries From Porch Pirates

Fortunately, there are several steps you can take to help protect your deliveries. Some of the simplest ones are:

• Have deliveries sent to your work, or a pick-up service
• If possible, set delivery times to when you'll be home
• If possible, require a signature before delivery
• Install doorbell cameras and lights
• Talk with your neighbors about holding onto or watching out for any deliveries

You can also contact the police department and ask them if they are offering a safe delivery space where you can have your packages sent. Thieves can be brave, but I doubt many are "steal from the police department" brave.

With the barrage of deliveries we're all expecting over the next couple of weeks, it wouldn't be bad for us all to make sure we've done what we can to protect our packages.