Prime Crime: Porch Pirates Find New Ways To Steal Your Packages
ROSEVILLE (CBS13) — Amazon Prime Day is over. Now over the next two days, more packages will be showing up on doorsteps.
Area police said with more deliveries, there's a higher risk for porch pirates getting their hands on your goods.
Amazon delivery drivers tell us thieves are getting even more creative, even impersonating drivers to get access to your packages.
Chris with Amazon delivery geared up for the 48-hour Prime delivery rush Wednesday.
"Stay on top of things and go with the flow, you know?" he said.
But he said "thieves" love Prime delivery almost as much as you do.
READ: Davis Porch Pirate Caught On Camera, Arrested
"You have to be observant of everything around you. You have to be cognizant of the types of people out there," he said.
Chris says porch pirates are getting more creative, too.
"People that are actually in my opinion, "pirates," they follow around vans and sometimes they will wear vests," he said. "It's even gone as far where they rent white vans that are similar looking."
But, in this case, imitation isn't a form of flattery. Police say if you see a person with a vest on approaching the box by your front door, call them.
If you have a surveillance camera that can track their license plate or a description, that's even better.
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Detective Nicholas Gaines with Roseville Police says their Crime Analysis Unit will expect more calls in the next 48 hours, and they'll be ready to patrol targeted areas.
"If you don't think something's right, trust your gut. If someone's coming up to your house, and they don't have a package in their hand, and they look like their Amazon, it's probably not right," he said. "Our officers will drive around looking for anything suspicious."
For Chris, he and his team are on high alert, he says to make sure your package arrives at your home and stays there.
"We are making sure the customers get their products and get their products right," he said.
Police say porch theft happens fast, and surveillance cameras are the best way to catch these culprits.
Also, the growth of porch piracy has led a number of states, including California, to call for harsher penalties for package thieves who get caught.
