As more Americans turn to online shopping to finish off their Christmas lists, package thefts are rapidly on the rise and Chicago is one of the worst cities in America for those choosing to have items delivered to their doorsteps.
According to Safewise.com, Chicago is the sixth-worst city in America when it comes to thieves stealing packages from doorsteps and mailboxes. The San Francisco-metro area is the worst in the country, followed by Salt Lake City, Portland, and Baltimore.
During the holiday season, things are even worse in Chicago, as the city has the third-highest larceny-theft rate in the country during the holidays.
Even though some residents have taken steps to try to deter thieves, including doorbell cameras, it doesn’t seem to work, and residents in a wide variety of areas are having to deal with the issue.
“I don’t even have them sent to my house,” Chicago resident Mary Lawson said. “I have them sent to a family’s house or somewhere else so I don’t have to deal with this.”
While doorbell cameras aren’t a foolproof solution, some holiday shoppers are wary of using other services to protect their purchases, including an Amazon service that offers shoppers the option of having packages delivered to the trunk of their car or even to the inside of their home.
“Once they start going into your house, what’s security at that point?” resident Andrew Dilley said.
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Other services, including Amazon locker facilities, are jam-packed with customers this time of year, and with seemingly all options exhausted, some shoppers are turning back to the old-school method of picking up items at stores themselves.
“With so many people here and so many different things going on, anything can happen,” Dilley said.
Consumer groups advise shoppers that they can have their local post office, UPS, or FedEx store keep their packages at their facilities as a way to prevent theft.
Doorbell cameras can also be effective in keeping a video record of thefts, which can expedite the process of replacing a stolen item or receiving a refund for it.
