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Thursday, March 28, 2024

NYC Grapples with Widespread Package Theft; 90K Parcels Per Year Lifted

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By: Amos Yaron

Items bought online are disappearing at an alarming rate – and companies are scrambling to help stop it.

Video doorbell cameras and larger mailboxes are both being used with hopes of stemming the tide. Amazon, UPS and FedEx are all promoting secure delivery sites to thwart thieves. Amazon’s are called “Hub Lockers.” Also, local grocery and convenience stores are offering to accept packages on behalf of customers.

Around the country, more than 1.7 million packages are stolen or go missing every day — adding up to more than $25 million in lost goods and services, according to an analysis for The Times by José Holguín-Veras, an engineering professor and director of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Center of Excellence for Sustainable Urban Freight Systems.

In New York City, where more orders are delivered than anywhere else in the country, over 90,000 packages a day are stolen or disappear without explanation, up roughly 20 percent from four years ago, according to the analysis conducted for The New York Times.

The Times feature looked at Gabriel Cepeda and his startup company Pickups Technologies, which “connects online shoppers with a network of about 30 residents in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg who will accept packages at their homes at all hours, for fees ranging from $4.99 for a single delivery, to $9.99 for a monthly service. The company plans to expand to more neighborhoods.”

Suggestions from the Maplewood Police Department include:

Have your package delivered to your work.

Have your package delivered to the home of a relative or friend that you know will be home.

Have your package held at your local post office for pickup.

Take advantage of “Ship to Store” option that many stores offer. Amazon offers a “locker” feature that allows you to pick up your package from a secure location.

Request that your package has signature confirmation upon delivery.

Ask your carrier to place package in an area out of plain view.

“There are other options not mentioned by the police that are worth considering,” CNBC reported. “Amazon Key, for example, now offers in-garage or car trunk delivery, which might be more convenient for people who don’t want to sign up for Amazon’s in-home Key delivery service. (Then again, you have to be comfortable with a delivery person entering your garage or home to drop off a package.)”

In addition, a company called BoxLock “offers a variety of smart padlocks that work with compatible boxes that delivery people can put packages in,” CNBC added. “BoxLock has a mobile app on iOS and Android that can open the lock box for you and also lets you track package deliveries from UPS, FedEx, USPS and Amazon Prime. Delivery drivers can use the lock’s built-in scanner to scan a package and unlock the box if it’s an expected delivery that’s addressed to you. If it isn’t, the box won’t open.”

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