Skip to main content
Home & Garden

8 ways to protect your packages from porch pirates

How to safeguard your holiday deliveries from package theft

An illustration of packages on a front porch, protected by a camera doorbell. Credit: Reviewed / Tara Jacoby

Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases made through the links below may earn us and our publishing partners a commission.

Here comes the holiday season, which means it’s that time of year when online shopping kicks off and a surplus of package deliveries begin showing up at your doorstep. Sadly, this means it’s also the season when porch pirates come calling and package theft booms. All of the gifts you ordered online for everyone literally become steals.

So, how can you prevent package theft at your front door? There are many ways you can keep those packages delivered safe (especially those that aren’t requiring a signature) without having to ever file a police report. Our ideas start with doorbell cameras and using delivery options like package tracking.

But first, what are porch pirates?

Security.org estimates that package thieves—aka porch pirates—have run off with more than $8 billion in merchandise over the past year and that 17% of Americans have had a package stolen in the past three months.

Although porch piracy is widespread across the United States, the safety and security experts at SafeWise name Seattle, Memphis, San Diego, and Denver among the top 5 cities for package theft this year.

Fear of stolen packages is front of mind for many online shoppers, with SafeWise calculating that in 2023 “over 65% of Americans are more worried about package theft than they were a year ago.”

Preventative measures can make all the difference as the holiday shopping season kicks off. Here are our tips for preventing package theft so you can spend more time giving and less time with law enforcement.

Tip 1: Install a video doorbell

A doorbell camera is just the start of a home security system. It’s the eyes and ears of your front door and it makes it really difficult for a porch pirate to steal a package without being seen.

The best video doorbells, like the Nest Doorbell (wired) and the Ring Video Doorbell (2020), you can do more than just hear and see what’s going on outdoors. Both of these doorbells are smart enough to send specific package delivery alerts to your phone, going above and beyond the general motion alerts found on most doorbell cameras.

Google’s Nest doorbell is one of the most specific, telling you when a package gets delivered and when it’s no longer in view (which could potentially alert you to a porch pirate if you’re not expecting any movement). The package detection feature comes free for up to three hours at a time with the Nest Doorbell (battery).

Only select Ring doorbells, like the (2020) model and the Ring Pro 2, can detect package deliveries. These two also have the unique capability to work alongside Alexa, allowing her to announce package deliveries via Echo speakers and smart displays.

Product image of Google Nest Doorbell
Google Nest Doorbell

A Google Nest doorbell will alert you anytime a package gets delivered.

$150 at Amazon
Product image of Ring Video Doorbell
Ring Video Doorbell

A Ring video doorbell can work with Alexa devices to announce package arrivals.

$55 at Amazon

Tip 2: Install an outdoor security camera

Where the video doorbell is one small element to a home security system, and outdoor security camera can catch potential package thieves before they reach the front door and give you the full view of what’s happening around your property.

With up to three hours of free video notification history, the Nest Outdoor Cam can detect package deliveries on your porch and people in your yard, depending on where you have it setup.

If you catch a porch pirate swiping a package from your front porch, you can create a video clip of the event to share. With a paid subscription to Nest Aware, the Nest Outdoor Cam is capable of continuous recording when plugged into a nearby electrical outlet. The benefit to 24/7 recording is that you can scroll back through your camera’s video history to see what happened, if a notification is missed.

Product image of Google Nest Cameras
Google Nest Cameras

A Nest outdoor camera will keep an eye on your porch for packages or thieves.

$250 at Walmart

Tip 3: Get an app-connected outdoor floodlight camera

During the holiday season, package delivery services may arrive at your home after the sun has gone down (or comes up, in some cases), which makes proper exterior lighting crucial to keep your packages safe.

Smart floodlight cameras like the Eufy Floodlight Cam 2 Pro can not only illuminate dark spots on your property, it also has recording capability, giving porch pirates the boot if they try to make off around the sides of your home with your holiday packages.

Product image of Eufy Security S330 Floodlight Security Camera
Eufy Security S330 Floodlight Security Camera

The Eufy floodlight and security camera illuminates your front porch.

$190 at Amazon

Tip 4: Get a Wi-Fi-connected mailbox sensor

Some packages are small enough to fit in your mailbox, and therefore likely fall out of view of a nearby video doorbell camera.

Instead, you can use a smart sensor like the Ring Mailbox Sensor, which sends notifications to your phone when your mailbox opens and closes. This can help you know exactly when your smaller packages are delivered

Product image of Ring Mailbox Sensor
Ring Mailbox Sensor

The Ring mailbox sensor alerts you anytime your mailbox is open.

$30 at Amazon

Tip 5: Put up solar pathway lights

The more lights, the better, when it comes to properly illuminating your front door and the walkway leading up to. Path lights are the perfect way to do so.

Philips Hue makes our favorite smart bulb, and the Philips Hue Calla White & Color Ambiance Outdoor Pathway Light Base Kit is another great smart lighting option from Hue to light up your front yard.

At least one light must be plugged into an outdoor outlet to work, but you can connect multiple units to one another for shared power. Made from weather-proof materials, the lights last up to 25,000 hours (or roughly 1,041 days of continuous use). They can display 16 million colors (which can double for holiday décor, too), and can be set to a timer in case your UPS, USPS, FedEx, or Amazon driver comes after dark.

The smart lights also work via voice control with Alexa, Google Assistant, and Apple HomeKit.

Product image of Philips Hue Calla Outdoor Pathway Light
Philips Hue Calla Outdoor Pathway Light

Light up your outdoor pathway with the Philips Hue Calla light.

$143 at Amazon

Tip 6: Have Amazon deliveries sent to an Amazon Hub Locker

A person in a pink shirt and brown pants holding a box walks up to a black wall of lockers
Credit: Amazon

Instead of Amazon packages piling up at your front door, opt to have the boxes left at a nearby Amazon locker.

Instead of Amazon packages piling up at your front door, opt to have the boxes left at a nearby Amazon locker. Your Amazon order will be securely stored until you are ready to pick them up.

Tip 7: Invest in a smart package delivery box

Instead of letting packages pile up on your front porch, a smart package delivery box is one way you can safeguard your holiday gift deliveries from porch pirates.

The Eufy Security Smart Delivery Package Drop Box has a built-in camera and can be managed remotely via the companion app, giving you the most details when it comes to securing your packages while you’re not home.

For a non-camera package delivery option, the Architectural Mailboxes Elephantrunk Parcel Drop Box offers a way to securely store larger package deliveries instead of leaving them out on your front porch. Most package delivery drop boxes are bolted to the ground to prevent porch pirates from removing the entire unit.

Product image of Eufy Security SmartDrop
Eufy Security SmartDrop

Get packages delivered in a secure spot with the Eufy SmartDrop.

$400 at Amazon
Product image of Architectural Mailboxes 6900B Drop Box
Architectural Mailboxes 6900B Drop Box

Keep incoming and outgoing packages secure in the Architectural Mailbox Drop Box.

$238 at Amazon

Tip 8: Use delivery options like package tracking

Going away for a while? There are a number of actions to take.

First, you may want to get in touch with the postal service to arrange to have your holiday packages held until you return home.

Package tracking is also a fantastic option and comes as part of your purchase at most retailers, from Amazon down to direct-to-consumer. If you’re expecting a package to arrive from a delivery company like FedEx or UPS, you can ask a friend or relative to pop over and pick it up for you. It goes without saying, but looking out for your neighbors is one of the best ways to prevent holiday gifts from being stolen right off the front porch.

Not everyone has a neighbor who’s at home all day, so see if it’s OK to have your packages sent to your workplace.

There are also programs like Amazon Key, which allows an Amazon delivery person to leave packages inside your house and garage via a smart lock or smart garage door opener.

What to do if a package is stolen

There are a couple things to do if your package delivery has been stolen.

A first step is to reach out to the retailer and confirm that your package was actually delivered to the specified address, with photo or signature confirmation. If your package was delivered properly and is now missing, you can report the theft to local law enforcement. It’s possible that the retailer will issue a replacement product or a refund.

Then take precautionary measures, like these above, to prevent package theft in the future. A home security system and reaching out to trusted neighbors are solid bets.

Related content

  • Amazon Echo Show 10

    feature

    How to stop Alexa from spoiling your holiday surprises
  • A person pressing a Ring Video Doorbell

    feature

    Alexa can now announce a person or package sighting

Up next