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Police say you can avoid becoming a package-theft victim this holiday season
By adamg on Fri, 12/05/2014 - 10:08am
Cambridge Police say residents have reported roughly 30 package thefts since Sept. 1 and suspect the number will grow rapidly this month - unless residents start taking steps to block front-step theft.
A majority of the thefts have occurred during the daytime from front porches or unlocked apartment lobbies.
To start, police say, residents should request packages only be delivered with a signatures - so letter carriers and private package workers don't just leave boxes on front steps or in foyers.
Also:
- Track your packages online, so you have a better idea when it is scheduled to arrive.
- With the Postal Service delivering packages seven days a week through the holidays, request that your packages arrive on a weekend day, if you plan on being home.
- Have your packages delivered to your work address or to a neighborhood friend or family member who would be home, in the event that you are not.
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Comments
Useless tips.
Who hasn't thought of what the officials spewed out?
How about some useful information such as how to recover your costs after a theft? Will credit cards cover these losses? The shippers obviously delivered the package to a location, just not the final recipient.
Frankly, I think those are very good tips that're well taken.
In the event that one has to ship a package anywhere, these same tips could also apply, as a means of avoiding having a package that somebody has delivered to a friend or loved one who resides out of state, or at least in another part of the state where the deliverer of the package lives. The idea of shipping packages ot, or receiving a package at one's workplace, as well as requiring signatures for delivery are very good ones, imho.
They're useless because they offer nothing new.
These are things people already do and can be seen more as common sense. What the officials did was just waste everyone's time while saying, "We really can't care less because well F-you.".
Actually Boston-res.....
Many people have no idea about how many packages are stolen, since they have never had one stolen themselves and have never even thought about it.
So this might put the idea in some persons head to pay a little extra for an expensive package that may have gone through normal mail channels before this information was brought to their attention.
They don't read Uhub?
It's a common occurrence.
http://www.universalhub.com/2014/police-cambridge-package-thief-picked-d...
http://www.universalhub.com/2011/thieves-stealing-packages-peoples-front...
http://www.universalhub.com/2014/citizen-complaint-day-well-least-we-kno...
Also made national news:
http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-882020
You need to get out more....
Many people don't know the simple things that you or I do, despite hat it says on the news or u-hub.
How can they miss it?!
Facebook, Twitter, smart phone everywhere! "Geet. So and so's package got stolen right from their front steps...Nah that won't happen to my package even though I live right next door...".
I'm not trying to be overly mean but I can see some of these people running over their own feet while trying to mow their lawn if they had one.
I agree.
But you should see how many people don't even lock their house or car doors at night!
Or people who leave their cars
unlocked and running while they go into a store.
"unlocked and running while they go into a store."
With the kid strapped to their car seat too!
F You is a bit harsh
Sure the suggestions are pretty common sense, but consisting the various options you the online shopping consumer have to make sure you get your packages safely, I think the police have more important things to worry about than the brown box on your steps.
Leaving expensive packages on steps in the 21st century with how much stuff people order online strikes me as pretty small town. Meaning when I lived in small towns before moving to Boston, I did this all the time. But once I moved to the city and realized anyone walking down the street could just snag my package, I got a box at the UPS store or have things shipped to my office.
While package stealing is theft and should be vigorously prosecuted when caught, asking the cops to make it a priority is like asking them to keep an eye on your unlocked house when you could simply lock your doors.
The funny thing about these package thieves.....
Is that the exact same people do it every year. It's a serious felony to go into a lobby and steal a package, but there is one guy in Brighton who has just gotten arrested for the 14th time in the last 15 years for stealing packages. and I just saw him yesterday in public after getting arrested red handed in Sept stealing packages.
Leaving expensive packages on
Maybe you should explain that to the shipping companies.
Not everyone can afford to "simply" rent a box at the UPS store. Not everyone lives close enough to a UPS store to make it "simple" to pick up mail there. Not everyone has an office job where they can "simply" have their packages delivered there, or a boss who would allow that. Not everyone can "simply" carry their packages home from work on the subway, especially if they get more than one during one day.
Unless you opt for signature
Unless you opt for signature confirmation (though most online stores don't give you an option for that) then the shipper's responsibility is only to get it to the address you gave the merchant. If you're not home and UPS leaves something on your stoop, it's not their fault of someone comes along & snags it. That's why they offer a service to only hand it over to someone they can get a signature from.
You can also setup a customer account with UPS and FedEx where you can request specific delivery windows. That way if you're only home in the evening they'll deliver it then.
You pointed out a fine problem with requiring a signature.
I've been trying to get stuff like this onto my Amazon orders. They seem to only offer whatever they want for shipping. Take it or leave it seems to be their policy. So now I'm choosing to leave it.
I had thought Fedex and UPS required some type of membership to schedule deliveries? UPS seems to have two options, one free and one not. Looks like the paid structure allows you to set a 2-hour delivery window:
http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resources/sri/member_premium_member.html
I've been trying to get stuff
Looking at it from Amazon's or for that matter any shipper's perspective requiring a signature incurs an additional fee of nearly $4.00. Since Amazon and many other online retailers offer free shipping on items over a certain threshold you can see how this would eat into their profits.
Then Amazon's on the hook
Then Amazon's on the hook when stuff gets stolen, right? And they've got no beef with that?
a new wrinkile....
Online stores are using multiple carriers for one package. I have had some packages sent UPS & USPS and FedEx & USPS.
Amazon uses what ever company offers the best rate from the local distribution center. They now even use an 'Uber style' service. Packages are delivered to a local resident who then uses their own car to make final delivery. I am not to happy with this new system at all.
I have no better suggestions on how to avoid package theft. This year, we will not be having packages delivered to the house in the month of December - they are being sent to my parents house instead. Not a great solution, but my father makes sure he is home for the deliveries.
And actually yes....
Many credit cards do cover losses, even if they are stolen after you already received them.
Amex is the best, but you pay more in fees with them. Visa and MC have special cards which also cover losses. (Usually up to 1k per package)
Check out AT &T Universal
Check out AT &T Universal Card , it has all sorts of features, including theft I believe.
Useless?
Cohasset just had a large number of items stolen from cars parked in their driveways overnight because people weren't locking their car doors (no windows smashed at all).
So, those are the people who haven't thought through not leaving valuables in their car and locking the doors when they walk away from the car. And you think they've had a good think through of what happens to their packages on their porches?
http://www.wcvb.com/news/cohasset-hit-by-string-of-overnight-car-breakin...
My mother's North Cambridge
My mother's North Cambridge mail carrier saw her on the street and told her she had a package, so that she wouldn't have to leave it on the step (because of these thefts). Thanks, nice mail carrier!
Shipping options like
confirmation, insurance, and/or signature required are determined by the seller, not the buyer. Even when some of those options are made available to the buyer, they usually require the buyer to select a more expensive shipping method, which many may choose not to do.
Plus, in my many years of buying on-line, I cannot recall even one instance where a seller asked me "Do you want me to require a signature from you?"
Just ship packages to your
Just ship packages to your office/workplace. I don't understand what's so hard about this. You get your stuff sooner and it's safer.
yeah
Except one place I worked, the delivery guys from one company couldn't be bothered to walk the 15 feet inside the building to the admin office and would dump packages right in front of the front door.
With UPS/FedEx, most of those guys won't wait long enough for anyone to answer the door. USPS, it's pretty easy to get to a branch if they follow protocol, but driving to Southie or Watertown for UPS/FedEx ends up being prohibitive.
Amazon locker is an option, but not all things co.e from Amazon.
It's not that simple.
Lots of companies, including mine (a large academic hospital), prohibit us from having personal purchases shipped to the office.
Not every workplace allows
Not every workplace allows this and for large items it can be hard to bring them home from work on the bus/subway.
Not everyone can do this.
Not everyone can do this. Some places forbid personal packages. In some places it won't work for whatever reasons (like a hospital, for example - I know this for a fact).
"thegirl" pointed out one problem.
Another is some vendors require you to call your credit card company and have your work address added as an approved delivery address. I had this problem with Newegg a few years back when buying a computer. I'm not sure if this is still done, but it was then.
This
Last time I used eBay/PayPal, they would only allow you to ship to "confirmed" addresses. You couldn't order something and pay with PayPal or a CC and then have it shipped to a different address. I believe this is an anti-fraud measure, to prevent people from using stolen CCs, but it prevents one from having packages delivered to a secondary address not associated with the billing address in PayPal / on the CC.
Depends on the seller
I use PayPal for payments often, and have instructed the seller to ship the package to my work address on most occasions - even though my home address is the "confirmed" address with PayPal.
I agree, I'm fortunate to be
I agree, I'm fortunate to be able to do just this. I do it all year round, not just at Christmas time. If I couldn't do this, I'm not sure what I'd do other than try to arrange to pick up my items at a shipping facility.
My front porch is ripe for pickings.
Same here
But if you can't how about a box at the UPS store or FedexKinkos? It costs a bit each year but is cheaper than having packages stolen.
What about FedEx Ground & UPS
What about FedEx Ground & UPS Ground who seem intent on leaving packages in front of buildings despite notes, signs...etc. advising "DO NOT LEAVE PACKAGES"
USPS in downtown Boston
Never leaves packages on steps (or porch). UPS tends to leave them, although I used to swear up and down having to go to Watertown to pick up any package that I didn't get the signature card out in time for.
If the package is valuable enough I can have it shipped to a nearby FedEx office. Haven't tried it with UPS yet.
UPS downtown sucks.
Have you seen their Yelp reviews?:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ups-customer-center-south-boston
At least Fedex has their facility open on Saturday.
Charles St
I was actually thinking of the place on Charles St as a destination. Haven't inquired as to whether they will accept without charge.
It depends. I lived above the
It depends. I lived above the UPS Store on Newbury and the guys there would always hold packages for me because the entire building's mail came right to the store, but you'd need a PO box normally.
UPS Stores like the one on Charles are independent shipping centers that happen to have PO boxes. UPS just rebranded them after acquiring Mailboxes Etc
FedEx
I work in a high rise and I've been chasing down six monitors that I never received. Received ONE off of each order, but not the other three.
Funny FedEx's website says it was delivered but "business closed, left at front door". Yet we're in a high rise. And we have a receptionist who barely leaves (and has an intern come sit when she goes to lunch). Yet an hour later under the same waybill one of those single monitors was recieved and signed by our receptionist.
Its very very odd. Some driver fucked up.. twice. I'm going on my 2nd month dealing with FedEx, Dell, and my building about this. Sucks. The quality of FedEx, and UPS have gone way down hill in the past several years.
I caught Fedex trying to pull one over on me once.
I was home and waiting for them to deliver, kept clicking refresh on the tracking page and saw an update. Update said "customer not available". I called Fedex and they made the driver go right back since I caught literally within three minutes of the website update. Fedex guy was like, "Oh sorry".
yuip
The thing that gets me is that I'm in a high rise here.. 26 floors of offices. The Fed Ex guy probably has maybe a handful of other buildings to service because there's so many tenants. Not sure what happened or what happened.
We do have two other suites on our floor (and ours is XX01, while our neighbor is XX00) but our neighbor(s) said they don't have them.
I refuse to use FedEx because
I refuse to use FedEx because I was crossing Newbury one day and a FedEx truck came zooming up the street and honked at me while in the crosswalk then proceeded to cut me off in the crosswalk, skip the stop sign AND yell "high class asshole!" at me. Reported the incident to FedEx and PD but probably didn't do any good.
Move the packages inside
My building had several packages stolen during the holidays last year. I had half of my xmas present stolen to my girlfriends dismay. One of the remedies we thought up was to post a sign on the inside of the entrance way and near the mailboxes asking people who live in the building to move any packages they see sitting in the entrance way into the building behind the locked door. It worked for the most part.
This is Boston
There are a large number of people in Boston who aren't able to think past the end of their nose. And if they did pick up the package and put it inside, they would want to get monetary compensation. Well that is my experience in the past. Luckily the people currently living in my building are a little more social.
And if they did pick up the
Or they'd toss it to the ground and break it. Or they'd dump it in a pile of slush. Or both.
My old building
in Allston did that too. It worked fabulously, until someone got mad at me for putting their farm share bin inside and left an angry note not to touch their stuff. Apparently, it was the empty bin being returned, which I of course had no way of knowing.
this is why you tip and be nice with USPS/Fedex/UPS folks
ProTip:
Delivery people will go above and beyond if they like you and you don't treat them like trash. After a few friendly chats with each of the USPS/UPS/FedEx people (maybe 2-3 casual conversations) they ALL started going way above and beyond for us. They'd go into the backyard to 'hide' packages on the porch, retry deliveries on the same day when they did not have to etc. etc.
All it took was some friendly conversation. Of course after they started doing the extra-nice stuff for us we started tipping each holiday season so maybe it was an intentional investment on their part!
If you ever see them
Ours drop the package and speed off without even ringing the doorbell.
These packages are arriving when people are not at home, or are similarly dropped off without signature.
What you suggest works when you are home or at work all the time. It doesn't work if you never interact with your delivery people.
If we're complaining about
If we're complaining about UPS: I arrived home tonight to find 4 packages on my front steps. Two were for me, one was for someone else in my town (nowhere near my house) and one was for some dude in another town.
So now I have to call UPS & try to get them to fix their mistake...
Try offering a bottle of
Try offering a bottle of water in the summer, even to the trash guys. It goes a long way. People just like to be treated as people.
Leave a cooler
If we have garbage/recycling on a very hot day, I'll leave an old cooler with a note in English/Spanish/Portuguese inviting our trash guys to partake of chilled drinks.
I usually find the empty cooler against the garage when I get home and a thank you on the note.
Helpful tip
Obviously the solution is to have our packages delivered to the Police Station. Problems solved.
USPS stole my priciest package
I was a f'n idiot and didn't insure a package w. software and video games. It was the only one of 30+ mailed packages that went missing during my move. Spring for insurance if you must use USPS.
It's surprising that the person who did it wasn't caught.
It's surprising that the USPS worker who stole your expensive package wasn't caught and fired from his/her job, which s/he should've been.