Thieves are stepping up their tactics, with some posing as delivery drivers to steal packages from porches. In Phoenix’s Westwood neighborhood, near 19th Avenue and Camelback Road, a woman dressed as an Amazon delivery driver was caught on video stealing a package.
The surveillance footage shows the woman wearing an Amazon vest, dropping off a Walmart bag, then picking up a package that had just been delivered minutes earlier by an actual Amazon driver. The homeowner shared the video on social media to alert neighbors, and a neighbor responded, confirming the same person had stolen their package as well.
“The guy dropped off the packages, and she picked them up right away. So I said, we’ve been ripped off,” David Gibson, the victim, said.
He says she used a Walmart bag as an apparent decoy.
“She dropped off a Walmart bag with an empty shoebox. So, she is pretending she’s delivering something, and she drops that and picks up our boxes and takes off.”
“While the vast majority of deliveries make it to customers without issue, we recognize that, unfortunately, there are bad actors who wear look-alike apparel to steal packages from customers’ homes. We encourage anyone who’s been a victim of package theft to report it to the police, and we’ll work with law enforcement to help as much as possible. Amazon’s customer service is also available 24/7 to help with any matters related to deliveries,” Amazon said in a statement acknowledging the rise in such incidents.
Authorities recommend securing packages with tools like lockboxes, cameras, or delivery instructions to deter porch pirates.
