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Thu, 05 Dec 2024 23:39:07 -0800
marlon from
private IP, post #15696920
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our top cop
https://www.themidwesterner.news/2024/12/michigan-attorney-general-urges-residents-to-play-music-outside-to-combat-christmas-porch-pirates/
Michigan attorney general urges residents to ‘play music outside’ to combat
Christmas ‘porch pirates’
Comes after illegal immigrant was arrested for stealing iPhone packages in Troy
neighborhoods
By Victor Skinner
December 5, 2024
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is fighting against porch pirates with
Christmas lights and holiday music.
The top cop in the Great Lakes State offered advice to Michiganders on Wednesday
to help them avoid package thefts in the leadup to Christmas, one element of a
Holiday Scams Campaign run by her Consumer Protection Team that launched on
Black Friday.
“Whether it’s a package or a piece of mail, unattended deliveries are easy
targets for porch pirates,” Nessel said in a statement. “By planning ahead
and taking security measures, you can make sure your sell-deserved gifts and
packages reach you safely while keeping thieves from stealing your holiday
cheer.”
Much of the advice from the AG includes obvious anti-theft measures, such as
shipping packages to secure locations like Amazon Lockers, FedEx offices, and
workplaces. Porch cameras, motion detectors, and keeping porches well lit are
also good ideas, according to Nessel’s office.
But there’s also nuggets of sage advice that will help residents “create the
illusion of presence.”
“Even when you’re not home, make it look like someone is present by leaving
lights or music on,” the AG suggests.
Hoodline Detroit reported Nessel’s advice as, “If you’re not home, leave
lights on or play music outside.”
Other prevention measures include the U.S. Postal Service’s free Informed
Delivery Tool that allows users to preview incoming packages, leave delivery
instructions, and reschedule drops.
“Attorney General Nessel’s alert also notes that mail and package theft is a
leading cause of identity theft crimes,” according to the AG. “Consumers can
also reduce their risk by opting out of pre-approved credit offers, which
thieves can use to apply for credit in someone else’s name.”
Porch pirates cost Americans nearly $16 billion in 2023, though what has been a
growing problem seems to have slowed somewhat.
“For the first time, it looks like package theft is leveling out,” according
to the home security company SafeWise, which released a study on 2023 thefts on
Thursday. “This year’s report estimates that 120.5 million packages were
snatched from porches across the U.S. in 2023—an increase of just 1 million
yearly. While that’s not insignificant, it keeps pace with population numbers
and doesn’t indicate a real uptick in package theft activity.”
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Overall, between 260,000 and 325,000 packages are stolen in the U.S. every day,
with 33.2% involving Amazon packages, 18.3% USPS, 17.1% FedEx, 15.7% UPS, and
smaller percentages for other types of deliveries, such as groceries, the
research shows.
The roughly $16 billion in annual losses equates to just over 1% of the $1
trillion American spent on online shopping last year, SafeWise reports.
Regardless, the issue continues to plague many Michigan communities, with
thieves becoming increasingly more brazen.
In late October, Troy police arrested Yohangel Martin Polanco Melo, an illegal
immigrant from the Dominican Republic, after the 23-year-old was allegedly
caught on video posing as an Amazon driver to swipe packages from porches in
metro Detroit.
The arrest stemmed from multiple reports of stolen iPhone deliveries, with
police leveraging video of Melo and a vehicle he used in the alleged crimes to
track him down.
“On each occasion Polanco Melo, dressed in an Amazon vest, bucket-style hat,
and surgical mask, would approach a home that had just had an iPhone delivered
carrying a small empty package,” according to a Troy Police Facebook post.
“Polanco Melo would leave the empty/unlabeled box and steal the iPhone box,
often concealing it under his vest while returning to his vehicle.”
Investigators are investigating how Melo identified where the packages would be
delivered and when, as well as the total number of phones stolen.
“The driver, Polanco Melo was arrested wearing the same Amazon vest, bucket
style hat and surgical mask observed in the numerous surveillance
videos/images,” Troy Police wrote. “Officers recovered several iPhones that
were inside the vehicle along with several empty boxes.”
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The targeted thefts are part of a broader trend in Michigan, New York,
Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida and Texas involving iPhones shipped through
FedEx by AT&T that has sparked an FBI investigation, Mix 95.7 reports.
Those phone deliveries, unlike others, generally don’t require a signature,
making them easy targets, but federal officials are working with FedEx and AT&T
to understand how the thieves are tipped off to the deliveries.
“They often wear delivery vests to blend in and swoop in just seconds after
the FedEx driver leaves,” according to the radio station. “For example, one
woman from Texas report that five iPhones she ordered were stolen in just
seconds while thieves drove by her home several times before the delivery.”
In Michigan, convictions for stealing mail or packages result in a misdemeanor
with a potential jail sentence of one year, plus fines. Repeat offenders risk up
to five years in prison under state and federal law, according to the AG.
Fri, 06 Dec 2024 07:36:32 -0800
zerosugar
from private IP
Reply #13402681 The best thing to avoid porch
pirates is to have a camera out front. The porch pirates are bad these days. I
have a cam, but haven’t set it up yet. I track my packages closely. That
Dominican dude must have lots of time on his hands to pose as an amazon driver
or he just stole a vest. I keep my lights on regardless so they think somebody
is home.
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