Caught on camera: ‘porch pirate’ steals expensive package

A family on Hamilton’s east mountain caught a “porch pirate” on camera stealing an expensive package. A video posted to a private group on Facebook shows a “porch pirate” in action. It happened on Upper Kenilworth Wednesday afternoon.

In the video, a person is seen trailing behind a FedEx truck that is dropping off a package at a house. When the FedEx truck leaves, the person then walks directly up to the house in broad daylight and takes steals the package.

According to the Facebook post, the man then runs down the street and appears to get into a silver Toyota Corolla.

The family living in the home declined to appear on camera but told CHCH News the package that was stolen from their porch was filled with more than $1,000 in Christmas gifts.

Residents in the area say an incident like this so close to Christmas, is disappointing, “I can’t believe people nowadays want to take people’s packages, and it’s only a few days before Christmas.”

Hamilton police say package thefts have become increasingly common, especially during the holidays, “Hamilton police sees parcel thefts throughout the year since the pandemic and the increase of online shopping, however, that is 16 per cent higher within the month of December alone.”

Police say porch pirates are usually repeat offenders and that it’s important to report thefts to them. They also say there are ways to help prevent your package from being vulnerable to porch pirates which include having the package delivered to an alternative address like work, or a friend or family member, shipping the package to a store or post office, requesting a signature confirmation or asking the carrier to place the package in an area that out of plain view.