Amazon delivery pictures - a great way for deliverymen to steal

[KillerCharlie]

I got an Amazon notification and picture that my package arrived. When I got home - nothing. Turn on my security camera and a minute after dropping off the package, the delivery person returns and takes it back!

I'll post a video when I figure how out how to transfer it.

**EDIT: It wasn't the delivery person, but someone the same size with the same color (but different) clothes, just a few minutes later. It was hard to tell on the DVR display screen.

 

[paperfist]

Seems plausible that a delivery person would risk being fired and taken to jail over a light weight package like that.

Could have been someone walking by or the wind?

 

[Red Squirrel]

This is happening a lot, thieves follow the delivery truck and then they steal all the packages that they leave. It has not started happening in my city yet but I'm thinking of building a chest I can leave by the door and it will lock when it's closed with something in it.

 

[lxskllr]

I'm thinking of building a chest I can leave by the door and it will lock when it's closed with something in it.

Around here I get delivery location du jour, and it's seldom the same place twice, and usually not the porch. If that were to work, I'd probably have to put it in the driveway closeish to the road, and with highly visible signs. That said, I've never had a package lifted. That's a problem for another day.

 

[dasherHampton]

This is happening a lot, thieves follow the delivery truck and then they steal all the packages that they leave. It has not started happening in my city yet but I'm thinking of building a chest I can leave by the door and it will lock when it's closed with something in it.

I thought I read somewhere about a company developing these. They would be bolted down and lock as soon as closed. Or maybe the Amazon delivery guy would have a temp key to open it.

Either a kickstarter or and established company seeking funding.

With delivery of valuable packages growing at a fast pace everyone will have something like this eventually.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yeah I'm thinking something that is bolted down, and has a laser that runs at the bottom. When a package is placed it breaks the laser and then it will lock when it's closed. If you expect more than one package at a time you could override the lock remotely. It could have a camera as well.

The issue with a lot of services such as Flexdelivery is that they are only good for that one carrier or retailer. When you order something online you often don't have control over what carrier is being used. would be nice if there was a service that worked with any delivery. Could be something that you pay a small fee per month to get a virtual address, or you pay a small fee per package, etc.

 

[FeuerFrei]

Hate it when UPS stacks 'em high on my front step. House is elevated above street level, and 4 half-circle steps are protruding from the front door. So you might as well be putting them on a pedestal. Anyone within 120 feet can see them perched there.

Just put 'em on the sidewalk between the steps and the row of azalea bushes. Ground level, not stacked on a pedestal.

 

[Red Squirrel]

They usually leave mine in front of the door and I have sorta a ground level porch area, so it's low enough that you can't see it because of the snow in the yard. Works out ok at least for most of the year.

 

[FeuerFrei]

According to tracking info, I did have a package taken once. But it showed up a day or two later, magically.
I suspect some neighbor glommed it. Maybe a thoughtful gesture to shield from inclement weather? Or maybe a thief with second thoughts.

 

[IntelUser2000]

Speaking of Amazon and stealing, I think this counts: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/hobbyist-demonstrates-amazon-key-vulnerability,36462.html

In 2017, Amazon released Amazon Key, a smart-home IOT product that lets Amazon deliverers open your door to drop off your packages.

How do they make it 100% sure the deliverman doesn't steal?

 

[ImpulsE69]

You can't. Lots of people steal from their jobs. No solution will be foolproof, even a lock box. If someone wants to get in, they will.

 

[lxskllr]

Speaking of Amazon and stealing, I think this counts: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/hobbyist-demonstrates-amazon-key-vulnerability,36462.html


How do they make it 100% sure the deliverman doesn't steal?

I could see a time in the not too distant future where people get delivery portals built on their houses. Kind of like a mud room, where it's connected but separate. Not too costly, and more things are getting delivered every year.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

You can't. Lots of people steal from their jobs. No solution will be foolproof, even a lock box. If someone wants to get in, they will.

Right, so there's no reason to lock your front door or not leave your keys in your car. Since it can't be foolproof why try at all?

Newsflash, thieves will usually take the path of least resistance. 99.99% of the package stealers will go after unprotected packages where they can grab it and be gone in 2 seconds. They're not going to attack a lockbox with a crowbar and acetylene torch when there are thousands of easier packages to get without exposing themselves for that long.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Not really a newsflash, I mean, I know that, but it doesn't change the fact it isn't fool proof and won't stop it from happening. It's just the reality of the world, like guns. Breaking and entering and car theft still happens after all these years of locks.

One thing that would stop some theft? Companies need to quit shipping in boxes that plaster their brand and what the item is for all to see. I recently had a guitar delivered. Glad I was home because it was very obvious what it was. Obviously less of an issue for Amazon shipped items though.

 

[IntelUser2000]

You can't. Lots of people steal from their jobs. No solution will be foolproof, even a lock box. If someone wants to get in, they will.

Yep. Just a rhetorical question though.

If you really wanted delivery using this service, I guess you could make a box that locks itself with an Amazon key so they can open it and put it in there instead.

Not sure if it'll ever be a good idea to trust some stranger to open the doors to your house. Does Amazon see a future where everyone trusts each other to do the right thing?

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Not really a newsflash, I mean, I know that, but it doesn't change the fact it isn't fool proof and won't stop it from happening. It's just the reality of the world, like guns. Breaking and entering and car theft still happens after all these years of locks.

One thing that would stop some theft? Companies need to quit shipping in boxes that plaster their brand and what the item is for all to see. I recently had a guitar delivered. Glad I was home because it was very obvious what it was. Obviously less of an issue for Amazon shipped items though.

And again, breaking and entering also follows the path of least resistance. Burglars will go after the easiest targets, not Fort Knox. A locked door, a decent alarm and motion-activated spotlights go a long way towards deterring burglars and convincing them to go after someplace easier. A car thief will find an unlocked or unalsrmed car rather than breaking into an alarmed and monitored garage to then take a car inside. Those are reasons TO secure valuables, not reasons not to.