The holiday shopping rush is here, and that means peak season for package thieves.
Porch pirates may be waiting to pounce on your deliveries, and in a case in Fort Worth, a thief swooped in before the delivery driver left the yard.
It happened in broad daylight.
An Amazon driver delivered a box to a home on Oscar Avenue in Fort Worth.
And as soon as he walks off, a man in a white SUV gets out, hustles across the yard, and takes the box, just 10 seconds after it’s delivered.
“It was very disappointing to see it happen, especially since I was home and about to open the door,” said Yesenia Partida.
Partida lives at the home and says she heard the doorbell, secured her dog, then walked outside to see the SUV driving off and quickly realized her package had been stolen.
Then she checked her doorbell camera.
“The complete audacity of this person to show up and do that in plain daylight with neighbors and people out on the street. They felt no shame or embarrassment to do it,” said Partida.
With Cyber Monday packages piling up, Fort Worth police are warning people that porch pirates are on the prowl, like the one on Oscar Avenue, whom they want identified.
“One of the things that’s noticeable is the Cowboys jersey, but this is no laughing matter. Not time to make jokes. This is where we need to get somebody to identify this individual and literally rip his playbook in half and get him behind bars,” said Buddy Calzada with the Fort Worth Police Department.
To protect deliveries, Amazon recommends tracking packages in real time, installing a home security device like a doorbell camera, selecting a designated delivery day, and specifying a hidden drop-off location.
Partida says she’s signing for more packages, especially valuables.
She says the stolen box contained laundry detergent and Keurig descaling solution, items totaling about $30.
Anyone who recognizes the thief is asked to contact Fort Worth police.