How do you stop porch pirates before holiday deliveries pile up?

Security.org’s 2026 Package Theft Report estimates 47.7 million Americans were victimized by package theft in the last year, with stolen packages worth about $7.7 billion — and the busiest delivery weeks of the year are just starting. Delivery alerts, hidden drop spots, lockers and a camera that speaks up can keep your boxes safe.

The delivery photo shows your package sitting on the porch at 2 p.m. — and by the time you get home at six, it’s just not there. Short answer: You can’t watch the porch all day, but you can make a package spend less time sitting visible and unattended — with alerts, hidden drop spots, lockers and a camera that speaks up the moment a box lands. Why it matters: Security.org’s 2026 Package Theft Report (updated October 28, 2026) estimates 47.7 million Americans were victimized by package theft in the last year, with stolen packages worth about $7.7 billion.

Adults expect an average of 28 deliveries each between October and December, and nearly half of Americans worry more about package theft during the holidays — and the busiest delivery weeks are just starting.Six ways to make your porch a harder target:1. Turn on delivery alerts from the carrier and retailer apps, and bring packages inside as soon as the alert lands.2. Leave delivery instructions that keep the box out of sight from the street — behind a planter, at a side door, or inside a gate.3.

Send expensive items somewhere safer: a pickup locker, in-store pickup, hold-at-location, or require a signature.4. Sign up for USPS Informed Delivery (free) so you know which days mail and packages are coming.5. Aim a video doorbell or porch camera at the spot where packages land and turn on its package alerts (our best video doorbell picks with no subscription can help you choose one).6.

Trade favors with a neighbor who is home in the daytime — you grab theirs, they grab yours.Pro tip: Don’t leave the big branded box a new TV or game console came in sitting by the curb — break boxes down and tuck them in the bin, so you’re not advertising what’s inside the house. And in these same weeks, fake “missed delivery” texts spike: never click the link — track the package in the carrier’s own app instead.Ad’s take: Most porch pirates aren’t masterminds — they take what’s easy and visible. Make your porch the hard one on the street and they’ll keep walking.