How to ward off porch pirates during the last-minute holiday package blitz

In the final countdown to Christmas, millions of presents will migrate from warehouses to delivery trucks to the doorsteps of Minnesotans. Concealed in cardboard and plastic, their appearance often is a relief for last-minute shoppers.

But their ubiquity also presents opportunities for porch pirates to pluck presents from front doorsteps.

Sgt. Mike Ernster said the St. Paul Police Department typically sees an uptick in package thefts during the holidays.

“This kind of crime is a crime of opportunity,” Ernster said.

To protect packages during this peak of the holiday season, authorities like the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office outline a number of common-sense tips from tracking the delivery to bringing packages in immediately or even asking a neighbor to hold them.

Here are other ways to keep packages safe:

Tools from UPS, FedEx and USPS give shoppers the option to instruct drivers to place packages at more concealed locations — think a side door or a neighbor’s address. FedEx and UPS also allow people to place packages on hold, a good option if you won’t be in town to get deliveries.

Porch lockboxes resemble newsstands, trash cans and mini fridges and can cost anywhere from $50 to nearly $400. But a one-time investment in a porch lockbox can help prevent package thefts, home security experts say.

Though designs differ, they generally work like this: An opening at the top allows couriers to drop packages that fall to a secure compartment. Shoppers then retrieve their orders from the lockable area. Some boxes can even be bolted to your porch.

One person’s inconvenience can be another’s best defense against theft: requiring a driver to get your signature before handing over a package can cause deliveries to boomerang from warehouse to front step and back again if you don’t happen to be home to sign.

But, it’s a surefire way to ensure a thief doesn’t have an opportunity to snag a gift. And it also helps to push someone to be home to accept a last-minute gift when it arrives.

If you’re worried about packages lying unattended on a doorstep, one option is to remove the doorstep entirely.

Amazon Lockers allow customers to ship deliveries to a secure location — often but not exclusively in Whole Foods Markets — then access the locker using a private barcode. Here’s more information about the service from Amazon.