NEBRASKA — With over a trillion dollars spent in e-commerce last year in the U.S. and a record setting Black Friday, many Nebraskans are expecting packages to arrive at their doorsteps.

With residents expecting an average of three packages per week, a wave of “porch pirates” are expected to try and steal packages from homes.

According to a survey, 44 million Americans have had a package stolen in the last three months.

While the number has fallen since December of 2020, 44% of Americans have had a package stolen.

In Nebraska, the median price of the packages stole is $75.

88% of Americans are concerned about porch piracy.

With the growing worry of stolen packages, some ways to prevent it from occurring include:

  • Show your property is under surveillance with motion detecting lights and doorbell cameras and make sure they are in plain sight and working.
  • Limiting the packages’ time outside and have some one present at the time of the delivery.
  • Schedule the shipments for times when you know you’ll be home.

Nine states in the country have changed package thefts from misdemeanors to felonies. Nebraska is not one of the nine states.

With the online shopping spree ongoing, it’s important to keep your home and packages safe for the holiday season.