Nanny Takes Down ‘Porch Pirate’ Package Thief: What You Should Do

EVERETT, WA — “Porch pirates,” those package thieves who steal holiday joy, are out in full force from one coast to the other. On the West Coast, it didn’t go so well for a woman who reportedly tried to grab a package on the doorstep of an Everett, Washington.

A surveillance camera installed on the doorbell caught the whole thing on tape from the moment the woman hopped out of a car and dashed up to the doorstep to grab the package to the moment it all went downhill. She threw the package in the car and was attempting to get in when the car suddenly pulled away. The woman captured on the surveillance footage fell.

Nanny Kate Anderson, who cares for 1-year-old in the home, saw her opportunity. She chased the woman and took her down, then marched the woman back to the home and held her there until police arrived.

"If someone is doing something wrong, I'm not afraid to put them in check,” Anderson said, recounting the incident to KCPQ-TV. She said she ran after the woman, shouting, “Hey, you’re not a nice person. I see you, and you’re stealing from me. …”

The woman tried to convince her that she wasn’t stealing and was just checking the address, Anderson said, but she wasn’t buying it. “No girl, I just saw you steal something,” Anderson said she insisted.

Police and security experts have shared some reminders on how to thwart "porch pirates" and ensure you receive your packages:

• If possible, have your package delivered to a location where it can be received by a trusted person.
• Ask neighbors who are home during the day to watch for deliveries.
• Request that the shipper holds the package at their facility for pickup.
• Track deliveries online and confirm delivery has occurred.
• Insure valuable items.
• Provide delivery instructions so packages are left out of sight from the street.
• Watch out for vehicles following delivery vans through neighborhoods. Some thieves will simply shadow deliver drivers and go from house to house stealing newly delivered packages.
• When sending packages, take them to a post office or other shipping facility rather than leaving them outside your home for pickup. Let the person you are sending the package to know to expect the package.
• Show off your home security system; make sure you have a sign in the front yard. If you have security cameras, make sure potential thieves know they're there, and if you have a doorbell camera, use it.
• Sign up for email notifications from FedEx, UPS and businesses like Amazon and Urban Outfitters to track your package from initial shipment to its arrival at your home or the recipient's address if you have the gift delivered directly.

Patch national writer Deb Belt contributed to this report.

Photo courtesy of UPS.