BALTIMORE — Just as quickly as a package gets dropped off at a home, it gets picked up and taken.
It's happening so often people are finding creative ways to fight back against porch pirates.
Megan Karanfil lives near Patterson Park, and because she is disabled, she has everything delivered to her door, from groceries to gifts.
She says for the last year she has been dealing with stolen packages or packages not delivered properly.
“The credit card company gave me some money back, but I mean it’s been over $1,000 that I’ve lost," says Karanfil.
And she is not the only one; a number of neighbors in Federal Hill say they have had multiple packages stolen throughout the year.
“I think you know the thieves are just taking every single package they can, trying to find something they can sell at a pawn shop or sell online or sell on Facebook," says Alex Santini.
“It seems like organized crime these days, so it’s like they have a getaway vehicle, they have the people that jump out and take your items and just go about their day," says Jasmine Trammell.
Jasmine Trammell had Christmas gifts for her daughter, and in a video you can see a man get out of a car and take her packages right from her door.
She says she never thought that would happen, and she hasn’t been able to replace the gifts in time for Christmas.
Alex Santini says ever since 2 of his packages were stolen, he has the delivery drivers place packages inside his vestibule, which the driver can access with a code.
Not everyone has a vestibule or a package delivery box, so their packages remain vulnerable.
According to Baltimore City Police crime stats, so far in 2024 there have been over 10,000 reports of larceny or stolen property, and it is the most common crime in the city.
But that’s why Jasmine Trammell says it's important to have a backup plan.
“Get to know your neighbors; get point of contact even if you are expecting something, I guess let someone else know other than yourself, we can watch our apps all day the time changes that it's going to get delivered. Sadly, there are people who organize crime, and there is no way to prevent it; we just go to get ahead of it," she says.
Leeann Ratnow recently had shoes stolen from her back porch and says it's good to invest in a security camera; that way you can catch thieves in action, which may help police.
“Definitely keep good records; if you do have videos, save the videos, because when the police come around and they need support, visual support its helpful to give that to them," says Ratnow.
Other ways you can protect your package is having it shipped to a job, creating a hidden drop-off location for your deliveries, or having it shipped to a store or local business.
