Sibley, Iowa — It’s the holiday season. Unfortunately, ’tis the season for “package pirates” — people who sit and wait for your packages to arrive and then steal them.
One area sheriff’s office is advising people to take precautions against package theft. We talked to Osceola County Lieutenant Seth Hoffman. He says there are several things you can do if you know that you’re not going to be home when your packages arrive.
Hoffman says you should always report package theft or suspicious behavior to the authorities, even if you don’t think it’s worth it — because if they stole your package, they may be stealing more valuable packages as well.
Hoffman asks people to be good neighbors too. Keep an eye out on your neighbors’ homes and offer to pick up packages for them if they’re not going to be home.
UPS, FedEx, the postal service and other shippers advise that they have other ways to thwart “package pirates” as well. You can sometimes even re-route a package AFTER it’s been shipped. You can contact the shippers for more information.
