Combatting porch pirates this holiday season

COHOES, N.Y. (NEWS10) – Christmas is next week, and many people are getting packages delivered right to their front doorstep. However, that means porch pirates are out. NEWS10 has tips on how you can avoid becoming a victim of package thefts. 

On a normal day Amazon’s delivery station in Cohoes handles 45,000 packages, but during peak season, right now, that number jumps to 70,000.

“Unfortunately porch pirating is a reality. It's important to remember though, that the vast majority of packages get to customers safely. but there are several things that customers can do to prevent porch pirate situations,” said Amazon spokesperson Marc Heintzman 

He said you can designate a specific drop off point at your residence, like a side door or in a garage. and…

“You can track your package, you know, when it's going to arrive. So you know when it's going to be there. you have someone home to receive that package so it's not waiting on your doorstep all day,” said Heintzman. 

He encourages customers who are ordering a gift for someone else to share the package tracking information with them. 

He said cameras can help deter, or catch, thieves. Heintzman said the company’s new electric delivery vehicles have features that keep drivers and your packages safe. lead driver Phil Raupp explains.

“This thing, it has over a dozen cameras. So it definitely keeps people safe. We have the camera up here that will track driving behaviors and habits. So, anything that goes wrong in the road, we'll get an update on it immediately. And then the rest of the cameras are more so for like backing up, maneuvering, stuff like that,” said Raupp.

Heintzman said they encourage anyone who finds themselves a victim of package theft to do this.

“You can always reach out to Amazon. Our customer service is available 24/7, but we also encourage customers to reach out to their local law enforcement,” said Heintzman. Raupp echoed that. 

“We can pass video along to them, you know, license plates, vehicles, make, model, anything like that. But yeah, we always advise drivers, call 911 first if you think there's a porch pirate and just give them a heads up,” said Raupp.