‘Porch Pirates’ Targeting Families on Summer Vacation


delivery package“Porch piracy” is on the rise this summer, as thieves target families away from home on summer vacation.

Recently, a man was caught on camera stealing a package off a front door step in Las Vegas. The victim, Nicole Doering, believes that her summer vacation could have attracted the thief.

When Doering and her family returned from their trip, they checked their surveillance footage to witness the crime that had occurred in their absence. She acknowledged that the suspect did not get away with anything valuable, but she fears that he may have targeted her family, knowing they were away on vacation.

“It was about 30 minutes after the UPS truck delivered it,” said Doering. She suspects that the man had been following the UPS truck around the neighborhood as he made his deliveries.

“It just seems like it’s happening everywhere in town,” she said. “I see people on the news, all these different clips just like mine of packages getting stolen. I don’t know what can be done, but I just think something needs to happen.”

Another theft was caught on camera in Bettendorf, IA, this month. Marcia Sue Cervantes, 70, was charged with theft in the fifth degree after she was caught stealing packages from a front doorstep. According to police, Cervantes admitted to taking packages returning some of them to the home after seeing herself in the video, which was posted online.

Officials say that there are ways vacationers can prevent “porch piracy.” They recommend placing a hold on shipments and increasing home security during travel.

According to the FBI, crime rates tend to increase about 10% during the summer months because of families’ absences and forgotten security measures. As many as 45% of Americans take a summer vacation, which provides the perfect opportunity for these “porch pirates” to strike.


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