As if online shopping wasn't popular enough, now we can't even leave our homes. I have a feeling the majority of holiday shopping will be done online this year. And with that comes those pesky porch pirates out to steal your packages.

Thanks to the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety, we have a few tips to try to protect our merchandise.

As reported by Mlive.com, reports of package theft have been on the rise in Kalamazoo for the past two years. A press release from the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety said,

With the increase in online shopping, thousands of packages are delivered to homes throughout the season. Most packages are left unattended for several hours, leaving them vulnerable to being stolen.

So, what can you do to protect your newly purchased goods? Here's what the police recommend:

  1. Sign up for delivery alerts
  2. Make sure your packages have to be signed for to be delivered
  3. If you know a friend or a neighbor will be home, have the package delivered to them instead
  4. If you can, have the packages delivered to your office
  5. Request that the delivery company place the package somewhere out of sight. For example, behind a plant or behind front porch furniture
  6. Take advantage of package delivery lockboxes that are approved by USPS and other delivery companies
  7. Choose to ship to the store instead of your home

One good thing about the pandemic and being stuck at home is it'll definitely be harder to miss your deliveries. However, if you do find yourself back at the office these tips could save you the hassle of having your purchased products pirated.

If you need a bit of a laugh check this out...a former NASA engineer set a booby trap for his local package thieves. Now, some people have said it's fake. I'm not sure about that but, it's definitely entertaining and almost cathartic to see a thief get showered with glitter. Especially, if you've been a victim of package theft.

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