Most pirates today don’t necessarily stand out with their hats and swords.  Their means of transport are no longer based on the seas.

Stealing packages from home porches is not new, but it is becoming much more prevalent with the increase in e-commerce deliveries to residential addresses in Cheltenham Township (and other nearby communities).

The Cheltenham Township Police Department put out a warning today regarding Porch Pirates.

The comments from the Police Department:

“Beware of the Porch Pirates.

During the holiday season, there will, of course, be a huge increase in home deliveries by UPS, USPS, FedEx, and Amazon. With that increase, we will see an equal increase in the thefts of some of those packages.

How can you protect yourself from these ‘Porch Pirates’ making off with your stuff?

“Here are a few helpful hints:

• 1. Try to schedule your deliveries to occur when someone is home.
• 2. Have deliveries made to your workplace (if allowable).
• 3. If buying from Amazon, check to see if delivery to one of their lockers is available. They are at many local 7-11’s and several grocery stores.
• 4. Watch your delivery notifications and have a neighbor hold your stuff for you if possible.
• 5. Leave a note for your delivery person asking to place the item in an inconspicuous location.
• 6. Perhaps invest in a doorbell camera or other front porch camera.
• 7. As always, be watchful of our Cheltenham community and please report suspicious activity to 911 immediately.”

The photograph of the Porch Pirates is provided courtesy of the Cheltenham Township Police Department, 2018.