Theft of Amazon deliveries

[gordon s]

Came home yesterday to find a guy in the hedge that runs between our drive and the public footpath. Somewhat surprised I realised he was opening an Amazon box and trying to lose the cardboard. I walked over to see what he was up to, to be told he had picked up his parcel from the Post Office and was struggling to carry it on his scooter so decided to take it out of the box. Sounds daft now, but at the time it was feasible and as a 70 year old I didn't want to risk getting into something that could result in injury, so watched him pick up the rubbish and leave. Having done some searches last night, I now see this is a common occurrence with Amazon deliveries just being picked up off the doorstep when no one is home.

 

It also seems there is no risk to the buyer as Amazon simply replace the item. I'm guessing the supplier also gets reimbursed, so it appears an acceptable overhead risk to Amazon. I haven't had to contact the Police before, but going on the recorded message from Thames Valley Police, they aren't interested, so the risks to criminals are minimal.

 

Funny old world we live in.......

Edited November 27, 2020 by gordon s

[Guest]

There have been reports of Amazon Playstation 5's being nicked before they even get delivered.

 

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2020/11/amazon_uk_responds_to_stolen_ps5_delivery_claims

Edited November 27, 2020 by 30801

[hayfield]

Gordon

 

Its all factored into the retail price, its cheaper to take the odd hit than the delivery drivers having to find a safe place (neighbour etc) for everything. They track these things and if an area proves to be a problem they then take precautions 

 

Retail mark up is extremely high, net profit is always quoted, whilst this is correct to a certain extent it hides all costs like theft/ returns etc. They will never disclose acquisition prices which in many cases are far lower than people realise  

[jchinuk]

They are known as "porch pirates" in the US, and some home owners take revenge.  Not that I would condone such actions.

 

Actually, there are dozens of similar videos on YouTube.

 

The current (in the UK) system of contactless delivery really facilitates, as the drivers (often on a tight schedule) does not need to knock or ring the bell.

 

jch

[hayfield]

25 minutes ago, jchinuk said:

They are known as "porch pirates" in the US, and some home owners take revenge.  Not that I would condone such actions.

 

Actually, there are dozens of similar videos on YouTube.

 

The current (in the UK) system of contactless delivery really facilitates, as the drivers (often on a tight schedule) does not need to knock or ring the bell.

 

jch

 

 

Priceless

 

If only these boxes were

1/ Available

2/ legal to use 

Edited November 27, 2020 by hayfield

[gordon s]

Made my day.......

[Clearwater]

We had a spate of thefts of deliveries on our street in Lockdown 1.0.  We'd set up a street WhatsApp group and as most people were working from home and several people have ringo doorbells, it became obvious when a van showed up.  Whilst vigilante action didnt happen, it did help people get down and go and get their delivery boxes straight away.  Some people did inform the police.  I suspected a scam as the theft incidences were higher around one particular delivery company...

[stewartingram]

We live in a small cul-de-sac/driveway, with4 properties. When we moved in son-in-law made us a decent parcel box ("The Green Box") to place by the door so that deliveries could be placed in it. Soon after, the wife became basically at home most of the day. So that combination of "TGB" & her at home (& me as well now I am retired) means that we are now the local parcel drop! Most of the regular drivers & posties will deliver to us for all 4 properties, at no bother to us, rather than leave on doorsteps (or as in the case of Hermes, pop them in the dustbin etc). Much safer & appreciated by the neighbours.

 

Stewart

[phil-b259]

1 hour ago, Clearwater said:

We had a spate of thefts of deliveries on our street in Lockdown 1.0.  We'd set up a street WhatsApp group and as most people were working from home and several people have ringo doorbells, it became obvious when a van showed up.  Whilst vigilante action didnt happen, it did help people get down and go and get their delivery boxes straight away.  Some people did inform the police.  I suspected a scam as the theft incidences were higher around one particular delivery company...

 

There is a scam where people use stolen card details to order stuff then intercept it from peoples doorsteps either by nicking it when the courier dumps it on the porch or by posing as a courier coming to take back the offending item.

[gordon s]

Just spoken to our neighbour and it was theirs. They had ordered a Kindle and the husband saw someone come to the front door and then leave, but as he was working from home and on the phone couldn’t do anything. The bell didn’t ring so assumed it was a circular delivery from a local trader.........

 

 Just a chancer who got lucky, now how do I make one of those exploding boxes?...........

[Nick C]

Have a look at Mark's Rober's take on this:

 

 

[Peter Eaton]

I can post you an exploding box.

Will be  tomorrow.

Do not open went delivered !

[big jim]

Invest in a ring doorbell, worth the money, we have caught one porch pirate with it and when a hire car company disputed collection of a car I sent them the footage of the guy collecting it (turned out he took the wrong set of keys from my key box and took another companies car!

[Tankerman]

My neighbour received a text from Amazon about an hour ago stating that her Amazon order had been delivered and handed to the recipient. The doorbell hadn't rung and there was no knock on the door. She went to her door and the parcel had been left on the doorstep. Fortunately we live in a close where all the neighbours know each other at least enough to say hello.

Edited November 27, 2020 by Tankerman
corrected spelling

[Guest]

44 minutes ago, big jim said:

Invest in a ring doorbell, worth the money,

 

This.

Thieves know perfectly well what they are and will be reluctant to do anything in sight of one.

We have chickens and also have a couple of Ring cameras there so we can see what they're up to and also spot any predators that might visit in the night.

[big jim]

39 minutes ago, 30801 said:

 

We have chickens and also have a couple of Ring cameras there so we can see what they're up to and also spot any predators that might visit in the night.

and spot naughty cats that should have come in for the night when called.....

 

 

 

[Guest]

I see a cat on a broomstick. Where's the witch?

[AndrewC]

Another fan of Ring. Since the bell and cameras in the alley & back garden, the number of "issues" has dropped to zero. We've been lucky with parcels. No thefts but then again I can see the door from my office desk and anyone coming up the path is pretty obvious even through the frosted glass. 

[Darius43]

I got a text message from Amazon to say that my parcel had been left in the “mailroom”.   Not living in an office, I don’t have a mailroom so I was somewhat perplexed.  
 

Fortunately I found out a few minutes later that the “mailroom” was the floor of the entrance to my block of flats six floors below.

 

Cheers

 

Darius

[phil-b259]

1 hour ago, 30801 said:

 

This.

Thieves know perfectly well what they are and will be reluctant to do anything in sight of one.

We have chickens and also have a couple of Ring cameras there so we can see what they're up to and also spot any predators that might visit in the night.

 

However do not be tempted to buy cheap versions.

 

According to the consumer organisation Which, many of those offered via online shops are ridiculously easy to hack, have no proper manufacturer support and in at least one case transmitted all your wi-fi passwords back to servers in China.

[Danemouth]

17 minutes ago, phil-b259 said:

 

However do not be tempted to buy cheap versions.

 

According to the consumer organisation Which, many of those offered via online shops are ridiculously easy to hack, have no proper manufacturer support and in at least one case transmitted all your wi-fi passwords back to servers in China.

Some information here

 

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2020/11/26/bzzzzzzt-how-safe-is-that-keenly-priced-digital-doorbell/

 

Dave

[Pete the Elaner]

6 hours ago, gordon s said:

 

It also seems there is no risk to the buyer as Amazon simply replace the item. I'm guessing the supplier also gets reimbursed, so it appears an acceptable overhead risk to Amazon. I haven't had to contact the Police before, but going on the recorded message from Thames Valley Police, they aren't interested, so the risks to criminals are minimal.

 

Funny old world we live in.......

 

No, they don't seem interested. They probably don't have the resources to pursue everything they want to.

 

While on my way home from work a few years ago, I got off the train & as I was unlocking my bike, I became aware of somebody hanging around suspiciously. I noticed someone watching him, so I joined the person watching.

While we waited, the suspicious person got out a hammer & bolster & tried breaking the lock on another bike. The person I was with called the police. They replied that they could not send anybody out. The called even told them "If you can send someone now, you'll see him for yourself" but they were still unable or unwilling to send somebody.

We waited around for a while. The suspect person tried in short bursts to break the lock then loitered around before having another go. After he disappeared, we waited around for a little longer in case he decided to return.

The bike owner was apparently on a train a little after ours. When he arrived, we described what happened, which explained the damage marks on his bike's frame. We also gave him our details in case he reported it & wanted to add witnesses.

Needless to say, he was not very happy with the police's lack of response.

[big jim]

1 hour ago, 30801 said:

I see a cat on a broomstick. Where's the witch?

 
inside watching Netflix 

[Fenman]

3 minutes ago, Pete the Elaner said:

 

No, they don't seem interested. They probably don't have the resources to pursue everything they want to.

...

 

No organisation that I'm aware of has enough resources to do everything they want. So they have to make choices.

 

In my part of the world, rural Norfolk, the police have decided their priority is to deal with the War on Drugs, and policing of young people out on the lash on Friday and Saturday nights who then start beating each other up. Despite the police using tax-payers' money to plaster every one of their vehicles with the fatuous slogan "our priority is you", it turns out when you contact them that their priority is invariably someone else. My disabled, widowed mother, in her late 80s and living on her own, had a gang of yobs break into her back garden and then start larking about. Great fun for them, terrifying for her. She phoned the police. The only question was "are they throwing eggs? Because if not, we can't come".

 

My priorities would be different: people getting bladdered and behaving badly with each other strikes me as a self-limiting problem. The War on Drugs strikes me as a self-created problem which could be solved at a stroke by decriminalising and treating it as the public health problem it is. And it would offer loads of replacement "sin taxes" for the Treasury, which would be welcome at the moment.

 

But the absence of visible community policing (all done for the best reasons of management school efficiency) leads to a fear of crime among, especially, older people which in turn leads to them locking themselves away in their houses. That's a pretty grim outcome for a supposedly caring society.

 

Paul

 

 

 

[phil-b259]

15 minutes ago, Pete the Elaner said:

 

No, they don't seem interested. They probably don't have the resources to pursue everything they want to.

 

While on my way home from work a few years ago, I got off the train & as I was unlocking my bike, I became aware of somebody hanging around suspiciously. I noticed someone watching him, so I joined the person watching.

While we waited, the suspicious person got out a hammer & bolster & tried breaking the lock on another bike. The person I was with called the police. They replied that they could not send anybody out. The called even told them "If you can send someone now, you'll see him for yourself" but they were still unable or unwilling to send somebody.

We waited around for a while. The suspect person tried in short bursts to break the lock then loitered around before having another go. After he disappeared, we waited around for a little longer in case he decided to return.

The bike owner was apparently on a train a little after ours. When he arrived, we described what happened, which explained the damage marks on his bike's frame. We also gave him our details in case he reported it & wanted to add witnesses.

Needless to say, he was not very happy with the police's lack of response.

 

Its a combination of a lack of police resources and the amount of 'red tape' / bureaucracy  involved for the prosecution of relatively minor offences. 

 

Thefts of bikes is thus regrettably not regarded as a worthwhile thing to pursue compared to the myriad of other things Police have to investigate these days.