Swampscott Porch Pirate Warning: Police

SWAMPSCOTT, MA —With less than two weeks remaining until Christmas it appears porch piracy is becoming more brazen on the North Shore.

Swampscott police became the latest department on Monday to issue a warning to residents about the risks of unattended packages.

"The Swampscott Police Department advises residents to be aware of delivery packages being stolen from homes, locked and unlocked vehicles," police said. "Even homes with camera devices are being targeted."

Last week, a Peabody woman posted a surveillance video on social media of someone stealing packages off her front stop at about 4:30 in the afternoon.

According to the National Neighborhood Watch, nearly one in four adults in the United States has reported having a package stolen at least once.

Here are some tips to help protect yourself against package theft this holiday season:

• Consider getting a P.O. box at your local post office or having packages delivered to your office
• Set up notifications to track your packages
• Install a security camera in the area(s) outside your home where packages may be delivered
• Require a signature upon delivery to ensure packages are never left unattended
• Reschedule delivery or ask for a package hold when on vacation
• Research potential home security technology and locking device options to protect and monitor packages
• Ask your neighbors to grab your packages for safekeeping until you return home
• Sign up for the USPS "Informed Delivery" service, where you can get a
daily email with a picture/scan of the mail you will receive that day.
To sign up, click here.
• If you believe you have fallen victim to package theft, you should do the following:
• Confirm with your delivery company that your package was actually delivered
• Identify which package was stolen and what the contents of that package were
• Contact the police immediately and report your package as stolen
• If you have a security camera on your home, give a copy of the video to police
• Report the package theft to the applicable carrier

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)