SE Oakland News

Porch pirates may ruin Michigan residents’ holiday season by stealing gifts, food and supplies ordered online, Sen. Jim Runestad (R-White Lake) told the Michigan GOP website.

“Due to some of the restrictions we are facing during the pandemic, online shopping is at record levels, which means there have been more packages arriving on our porches than ever before,” Runestad said, the website reported. “Unfortunately, that also means more thieves are trying to take advantage of the situation to steal your goods. I urge everyone to take some simple steps to safeguard their packages against so-called ‘porch pirates.’”

He said residents should check mailboxes regularly and pick up mail immediately after delivery. Missing mail should be reported to local police, he said.

Runestad introduced Senate Bill 23, which became Public Act 48 of 2019. It adds state penalties for mail theft to enable state prosecution of these crimes, the Michigan GOP said.

“This law went into effect last December” Runestad said. “It has helped provide peace of mind to consumers as the ability to prosecute and punish porch pirates has increased.”

He posted a “porch pirates” video that can be found on his website.

Nearly half of Americans (44%) surveyed receive a package on a weekly basis, C+R Research said on its website. More than one-third (36%) reported being a victim of porch pirates, with 44% of them having packages stolen at least twice.

The survey respondents said they spend an average of $222 monthly on their online orders. Overall, respondents said they spend an average of $222 per month on online orders.

Though porch pirate victims were quick to contact the seller or Amazon after realizing their package was stolen (83%), few called police immediately (13%), C+R Research said. Though only 11% of porch pirate were caught, 73% of victims said they received refunds.