Vancouver police say they are seeing more incidents of parcel theft now that more and more shoppers are going online.
“Parcel thefts are a concern for us this year, the increased online shopping the delivery to people’s homes,” Const. Jason Doucette said.
“So, we are asking people to take steps not to tempt a thief.”
Vancouver police recently released surveillance video of a scene that’s becoming all too familiar — a brazen thief snatching a parcel in broad daylight.
Several courier companies, including FedEx Canada, say they’re trying to address parcel theft, which they said is an industry-wide problem.
“We are always looking at ways to improve our process,” said FedEx Canada spokesperson James Anderson.
“We use those as teachable moments.”
Globally, FedEx expects to handle between 300 million and 400 million packages over the holiday season.
“This is going to be a record year at FedEx for the peak season campaign,” Anderson said.
“We’ve seen steady growth around the world and a lot of that is attributed to the growth of online shopping.”
READ MORE: Thief followed FedEx truck stealing packages from front porches in Vancouver, victim says
Police have a number of tips to defend yourself against parcel theft:
- Reroute your package to a more secure location
- Have the parcel delivered to a trusted neighbour, family member or your workplace
- Ask for a signature upon delivery
Many courier companies also offer an app to track your package.
“With a tracking number you can receive updates on every step of the delivery process via email or text. So if you get a notification that says we are out for delivery and you know you won’t be home that would be your cue to give us a call,” Anderson said.
Vancouver police urge you to call them if you fall victim to this type of crime.
“We’re finding that people are contacting their credit card companies and the retailers,” Doucette said.
“We’re also asking that they contact police because we can’t do anything unless we know about it. Quite often there’s a small number of people doing a large portion of this crime.”