The Christmas season brings more than just family, food, presents and holiday traditions together. Unfortunately, it also produces an increase in certain crimes, including theft of packages from the front porch or entrance.
“We see an increase in these kinds of thefts every year at this time,” said Deputy Police Chief Brian Cunningham of the Naperville Police Department. “Many times, it’s an organized thing where you see cars following UPS trucks around the neighborhoods looking for an opportunity.”
Cunningham said calls about stolen packages have been coming in two to three times a week since Thanksgiving, but he adds that there are certainly more thefts than just those that have been reported.
“People don’t always call about these things or they forget,” he said. “The problem with this type of theft is that it’s very difficult to track down unless someone has seen something.”
Cunningham adds that another “holiday scam” includes using phony credit cards and then having packages sent to vacant properties like a house that remains unsold.
“There definitely is a system to this, and seeing cars following mail trucks or people going up to an empty house and collecting packages is certainly a clue something is going on,” he said.
Tracy Spahr, a PR specialist for UPS stores, said there are a number of ways customers can safeguard packages, from getting a UPS mailbox to arranging for delivery at an alternate site.
“We encourage the use of business and personal mailboxes at our UPS stores, but people can also require a signature before delivery and use a service we call ‘UPS My Choice’ where you can select a time for delivery at a time when you’ll be home,” Spahr said. “We’re also testing a new service in Chicago and New York called ‘Access Point,’ which we’ll hopefully roll out throughout the country next year.”
“Access Point” will allow packages and parcels to be sent to an alternative delivery site such as a news agent or grocery store. Customers then receive an email or SMS when the parcel has arrived.
Cunningham said, if a package is stolen, there are a few steps to take.
“First, check the routing information and make sure the package has, in fact been delivered,” he said. “If you find that is has and it’s missing, call us. You should also contact the post office or UPS as they often try and help us with these cases, though they are very difficult to track down.”
Keep an eye out in your neighborhood for suspicious people or vehicles that appear shortly after mail trucks go by, Cunningham said, adding that the Naperville community as a whole often makes spotting perpetrators more difficult.
“There are so many people cleaning houses and doing remodeling work, it’s hard to spot the ‘wrong’ people,” he said.