Delivery lockers thwart “porch pirates”

UPDATE 11/28/2016 6:15 PM:

Industry analysts say Cyber Monday sales are expected to top $3 billion. While you’re keeping an eye out for your packages, law enforcement says you should also keep an eye out for thieves looking to steal them. They say package thefts tend to increase around the holidays.

“Sometimes we do get calls or a case here or there where somebody follows the UPS truck or the FedEx trucks around, watch them drop off the packages, come up a few minutes later and watch them swipe the package from the front,” said Cmdr. John Thornburg with the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.

Some e-tailers have taken notice. Amazon lockers are already in major cities across the country. Some Safeways in the area have them. According to Amazon’s website, Northridge Mall is the first in Salinas.

“We have 75 lockers here at the mall now,” said Jennifer Filice, director of marketing at Northridge Mall. “It’s been in place for a couple of months and people receive packages here and it’s very convenient.”

Convenient because you can also pick up some other items at the mall.

Here’s how it works: When you buy something from Amazon, not a third party seller, you have the option to have the package delivered to the locker. Once it arrives, you get an email with a code to punch in or scan.

“I like it, we’ve been doing it for about a month, two months now and it’s pretty simple,” one man said.

If you can’t use a locker, authorities have other recommendations to prevent porch privacy.

“Try not to have it delivered to the front of the house, or have somebody home if you’re going to have some delivered so they can receive the package,” Thornburg said. “People use other places. Either have it shipped to your work, have it shipped to a P.O. Box.”

Both FedEx and UPS offer alerts to let customers know when a package will be delivered. In some cases, customers can ask drivers to leave them in a specific spot, even change the time and location of delivery. And if you go out of town, make sure to put a hold on all your mail. Technology – helping to make the Christmas season run smoother.

“Shoppers are shopping differently, they’re using all their resources,” Filice said. “They’re in the mall and they’re looking at their phone and their doing research, this is just another way that people are integrating technology into the way that they shop.”

ORIGINAL POST:

As more and more holiday sales move online, holiday thefts are moving to the front door. The thieves are called “porch pirates” and e-tail companies are taking notice.

Amazon has installed delivery lockers in major cities across the country. When customers buy from Amazon, they can choose to have their packages delivered to the lockers instead of their homes.

Users receive an email when their package arrives. Then, using an access code, buyers retrieve their packages from the locker.

Amazon lockers have been in place at Northridge Mall in Salinas for several weeks, and tonight, KION’s Mariana Hicks visits the mall to see how the program is working out.