Porch Bandits Could Be Targeting You

If you do any shopping online this holiday season, odds are you are going to have a package or two delivered to your house and thieves could be targeting your stuff.

If you have ever purchased something online and had it delivered to your house and nobody stole it from your porch or the outside of your house, consider yourself lucky.

If your house is anything like mine, this time of year we are getting a package or two almost everyday and authorities are warning us that there are people driving around our neighborhoods just waiting to swipe a package from someones porch or steps.

Most of the "Porch Bandits" are timing it out and waiting for a delivery service to drop off packages and then minutes later they take them off of your doorstep.

Some police departments have issued warnings on social media about the thieves. Here are some helpful tips to use this holiday season according to ABC 5:

If you are having packages shipped to your home, have a neighbor pick it up off your porch if you can't be home.

If possible, require a signature for all deliveries so that they're not left at the door when no one is home.

Police also suggest having the package delivered to an alternative address that receives packages during the day, as some services offer "locker type" delivery.

You can also install surveillance cameras around your house to help deter the thieves.