
Porch pirates driver#
For Amazon deliveries, the driver can request entry to the home through an app, the homeowner can then allow access and is sent a notification with an attached video once the driver leaves.Ī Canada Post mailbox is seen in this undated photo.Ĭanada Post offers what’s known as “flex delivery,” where a parcel will be dropped off at a post office of the customer’s choice, instead of their front door. Here are some ways to protect yourself from porch piracy:Īmazon also offers a product called the Amazon Key, a smart lock that allows the user to remotely lock or unlock their home. “No one wants to lose a present, or a gift, that’s been sent to them or that they’re sending to someone else,” she said. Allyson Douglas-Cook with the Toronto Police Service recently spoke with CTVNews.ca about the possible ways to mitigate your risk of porch piracy.
Porch pirates install#
For example, Ezra and Frost are now planning to install additional security cameras around their home and add a lockbox for deliveries.Ĭonst. The good news is there are plenty of low- and high-tech ways to prevent porch piracy.

They later found the packaging in the backyard, but the contents were gone. Within moments, a stranger had grabbed the parcel. The couple’s security camera caught the delivery driver arriving at their house on Wednesday afternoon. "It's just still such a violating feeling to have somebody walk straight up and just help themselves to your things like they just have a right to,” Ezra told CTV Calgary. Just ask Hayley Ezra and Jamie Frost, who had a package lifted from the doorstep of their Calgary home last week. While there are no Canada-wide statistics on such thefts, a report from InsuranceQuotes indicates 25.9 million Americans had a holiday parcel lifted from their doorstep in 2017, up more than 10 per cent from two years prior.ĭespite the lack of data, porch pirates are also a problem in Canada. Porch pirates are thieves who steal packages that are left on someone’s doorstep when they’re not home to accept the parcel. TORONTO - A growing trend around the holiday season can be troubling for those buying gifts online: porch pirates.

This story was originally published on Dec.
