Reports of stolen packages spike during holiday season

HYDE PARK, Mass. — It's no secret that package thieves are always on the lookout for an unattended deliveries year round, but it's a problem most Boston-area residents know all too well spikes during the holiday season.

Reports of thieves taking packages delivered outside of homes has become such a problem that people have resorted to additional measures in order to catch them in the act, such as installing security cameras.

However, as effective as cameras and other security systems may be in recording the thieves, it does nothing to stop them in the act.

A Hyde Park family told Boston 25 News their stolen package was just a sweatshirt and that they were lucky, but many others aren't.

"I checked the delivery on my cell phone and it was delivered at 10:50 a.m. and it wasn't anywhere when I got home," said Barbara, a Hyde Park resident who asked us to keep her last name private.

Barbara checked the surveillance video from outside their Hyde Park home and found footage of a man who appears to just walk right through her gate, grab the box and walk off.

"Him coming up in the middle of the day [...] I still feel very violated - it's just an uneasy feeling that someone can just come on your property," Barbara said.

Especially around this time of the year, its better to be safe than sorry when it comes to ordering packages to your home. There are alternatives to just having a package sent to your doorstep and sitting there all day while you're not there.

You can have the package delivered to your workplace if you feel as though your home isn't secure enough.

Some companies, such as Amazon, have caught onto the problem that has become package stealing and have provided a number of alternatives to the standard home delivery option.

For example, Amazon in particular is now offering a service called Amazon Lockers which are secure places to have your package delivered to. You can register with a unique pick-up code, chose where you want to pick it up from and have it sent to that address. There are about a dozen locations in the greater Boston area.

Another option is renting out a P.O. box for the holiday season in order to ensure your packages will arrive safely and you can pick them up.

"It's just more for safety, I need my money's worth in my hands," said Lara. "My son had a tablet over $200 worth stolen - thankfully I had insurance, but if it wasn't for that - it wasn't even the holiday season, it just got stolen for no reason."

Boston Police are still investigating the stolen package cases around the city, and cannot release any additional information on that particular investigation just yet.

Cox Media Group