In a new report by Lombardo Living, Florida was ranked as the safest state regarding package theft.
Porch pirate hot spots were determined through more than 460 Google searches and phrases directly relating to package theft and porch piracy.
Researchers then compared the total searches over the past three years per capita -- and the Sunshine State came in at #50 in terms of porch pirate hotspots.
States with the hottest package theft spots include:
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- 1. North Dakota
- 2. Rhode Island
- 3. Delaware
- 4. Vermont
- 5. Nevada
States with the least amount of hot spots include:
- 46. North Carolina
- 46. Texas
- 48. Mississippi
- 49. Alabama
- 50. Florida
This comes after a recent report from Security.org showed porch pirates stole $8 billion worth of packages from people's front steps in the past year.
Local
Stealing packages delivered by the U.S. Postal Service is a federal crime; however, punishment for taking parcels delivered by private carriers, like UPS or Amazon, falls under state laws, which can differ.
Only eight states have made package theft a felony -- including Texas, New Jersey, Michigan, Oklahoma, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Arkansas. Pennsylvania is supposed to join them soon.
Researchers noted that all eight of these states are among the safest regarding package theft, as indicated by the state-by-state ranking of porch pirate hotspots nationwide.
UPS and FedEx, seem to be trying to combat the trend -- allowing customers to delay package deliveries if they’re not home or divert them to other pickup locations, either for free or with a fee.
However, more than half (54%) of Americans still don’t believe delivery companies are doing enough to protect their packages, according to Lombardo Living's research.
Here are the top five ways consumers are trying to avoid package thefts:
- Tracking packages
- Staying home to receive the package
- Signing up for delivery alerts
- Installing a doorbell camera or security system
- Sending the package to a different location
More than half (54%) of Americans know someone who had a package stolen from their property, with the most common victims being friends or family members.
This crime may occur more frequently during the holiday season, with three in five of these thefts occurring during that time, according to Lombardo Living.
