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Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

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Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#501

Post by saulrh »

ergothus wrote: post #362
vorpalhex wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I paid you $200, would you spend two weeks in jail? If getting that $200 meant risk to you (someone confronting you, someone else taking your money, risk of an officer giving you a beat down), would you still take it? It doesn't take a lot of risk to offset the "value" of stealing $950 labeled-worth goods (which will net you <$250 in cash).

When I was a young kid, my mom once told me that she never wanted to hear of me committing a crime I couldn't retire on. She doesn't remember saying it, this was an offhand statement when we saw a news item about someone stealing $20 from a gas station and doesn't really reflect how she looks at things AFAIK. Oddly, it really stuck in my mind and was present when I decided not to be peer pressured into a few incident…

I have a vague memory of getting the same advice at some point. It really is useful, and for more than simply returning a "do not do this" for effectively everything; in my experience it's also a forcing function for deeper risk-reward analysis. In my case that analytical mindset expanded to cover to more than just "should I commit this crime or crime-ish thing". Should I grab an extra cookie from the jar? Should I rush across this street instead of walking down to the sidewalk to reach a crosswalk? Should I commit this bad code to get the patch out faster? Etc.

The hilarious thing, of course, is looking at the news and seeing so many people commit crimes that they actually could retire off of... and then fail to retire, keep committing crimes, and get caught. Also a useful life lesson!

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#502

Post by ljm »

I appreciate this is HN so the main thread of conversation is going to naturally tend towards security and tech. How to protect your stuff with cameras and GPS trackers and what not.

Is such blatant parcel theft not indiciative of a greater societal illness? Not simply poverty and drug abuse.

I find myself trying to imagine why I’d drive through suburbs with a partner in crime and nab the odd parcel from a porch along the way. I could be looking to fence something to pay for the next high, or I could be poor as hell and looking to make ends meet. Or, maybe I might just think that the person I’m stealing from is wealthy enough to deal without it and I simply need whatever it is more than they do?

I wonder, because there’s a lot you can assume about someone living in a pleasant suburb, ordering lots of Amazon packages. The likely colour of their skin, their money, maybe even their politics. And we like to use attributes like those to decide whether or not someone deserves something.

I’ve no idea, but I find it really difficult to explore this without trying to understand why it happens.

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#503

Post by the8472 »

rconti wrote: post #454
stingraycharles wrote: post #224

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a European, I'm surprised that the postal services in the US just leave the packages outside, rather than ringing the doorbell and/or delivering it to a neighbor. Over here in The Netherlands, pickup points are common (my local groceries store is one), you can choose your delivery time (also in the evening) and they will deliver it to a neighbor when I'm not home. Why not avoid this whole problem with any of these…

Nobody's home during the day. What neighbor? How do you know which neighbor will be home, or which neighbor to trust? When 90% of your package recipients are not home, you spend 3x as much time per package delivery. Carriers offload responsibility by allowing the sender or receiver to opt-out of signature/package acceptance, so why would they care? Just one data point, but I've been having packages delivered to my ho…

You can specify a neighbor in an online form. A commercial entity on the ground floor may be generous enough act as "neighbor", accept the packages in bulk and put them in the stairwell of the building. If neither of that works you still have pickup points in shops or dedicated lockboxes[0] in central locations.

[0] https://i.imgur.com/F0sDNJO.jpg

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#504

Post by lucb1e »

stingraycharles wrote: post #224
Rainymood wrote: post #16

I'm honestly really shocked by how casually people seem to steal these parcels, like what the hell?

As a European, I'm surprised that the postal services in the US just leave the packages outside, rather than ringing the doorbell and/or delivering it to a neighbor. Over here in The Netherlands, pickup points are common (my local groceries store is one), you can choose your delivery time (also in the evening) and they will deliver it to a neighbor when I'm not home. Why not avoid this whole problem with any of these…

Dutchman here too. They don't usually deliver to a neighbour (hate it when they do that) but they just take it back to the parcel center, try again tomorrow, and if again unsuccessful you can just pick it up at your nearest parcel center. I don't keep track of different companies, but pretty sure it's DPD and PostNL that do it that way.

Choosing when they deliver either costs money (when you can choose during checkout), or you have to create an account and agree to some funny terms (I'd happily save them the trip, but they won't allow me to tell them without agreeing to a whole litany of things).

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#505

Post by sparky_ »

shaftway wrote: post #390
tivert wrote: post #256

If you're concerned about package thieves, just buy an outdoor cabinet and put it next to your door with a note asking that packages be placed in it. I use an Ikea Josef: https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/storage-furniture/outdoo... You don't even need a lock for it. If you can get the deliverymen to consistently place packages in it, the thieves will have no idea if there's actually a package at your door to steal…

Yeah, we had a package stolen off our porch, so we did that. It's a bench with a liftable top. The plan was to put a padlock on it. All of our packages are addressed to: Shaftway Place in Bench - Code 1234 24601 Where I Live St. My City, ST, ZipZipZip We order a lot of stuff, and probably average 3 deliveries per day. In the last 3 months we've had exactly one package placed in the bench. And we never even got around…

I've found it similarly ineffective. I have my packages addressed to "_sparky, Leave at Back Door, 123 My Street". Maybe 5% of them end up there.

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#506

Post by laumars »

edc117 wrote: post #456
bufferoverflow wrote: post #400

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think the shippers are responsible for any theft that's not caused by their staff.

Does anyone know the answer to this? I'm very curious. I actually wonder if it would be worse to report that you have video evidence of a thief, because they may no longer be liable (hey, we delivered it to where it had to go, rest is up to you) vs just saying 'it never got here'.

I can’t speak for everywhere but in the UK most places will send you a replacement if the item was left on a porch and then stolen rather than with your neighbors. That is considered a failure of the delivery company.

Further to that point, I haven’t even needed to provide evidence of stuff having been stolen. Which seems like a system ripe for abuse but it’s nice that it’s weighted in the customers favour for a change.

Thankfully I’ve not needed to complain about stolen stuff in a long while, partly because generally stuff is tossed over a fence or left with neighbors. But mostly because I now live in a quiet village so I don’t get the same kind of passing opportunists like I did when I lived on a busy school road.

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#507

Post by stcredzero »

quotha wrote: post #357
usermcuserface wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bear in mind... these people know where you live.

Hard to believe how many people are concerned by that. So a cowardly thief gets glitter bombed and you are worried that they will come back!! Imagine how much worse it would get for them.

Think of it this way: You have made a 100 to 200 pound large hairless ape angry at you. This creature has human intelligence, and no interest in your feelings or your safety. Rather, it wants to make you suffer. It's more capable than the most advanced robot, and may hold onto its grudge and plan revenge over the next several months or a year.

Who wants to sign up for that?

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#508

Post by magic_beans »

overcast wrote: post #332
Rainymood wrote: post #16

I'm honestly really shocked by how casually people seem to steal these parcels, like what the hell?

People steal PLANTS from neighborhoods around here. Plants, planted into the GROUND. There are worthless people everywhere in this world.

Now THAT is cold-blooded.

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#509

Post by magic_beans »

Axsuul wrote: post #489
overcast wrote: post #332

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People steal PLANTS from neighborhoods around here. Plants, planted into the GROUND. There are worthless people everywhere in this world.

My grandpa has pomegranate trees on his property that have been stolen from a few times. It's heartbreaking cause of the amount of work he puts into caring for them. And these trees are picked CLEAN with nothing left behind which is just cruel.

Wtf? Are people stealing them to eat? To sell? I mean, I have a small amount of sympathy if someone needs to feed their family and can't afford food, but if someone is just trying to make $10, that's really sad.

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#510

Post by magic_beans »

jessriedel wrote: post #118
ragebol wrote: post #61

In the Netherlands, when I order a package and no one's at home when it's delivered, it either gets delivered to my neighbors or to the post office, with a note of where to pick it up. It's never left at my door AFAIK. How is this not an option in the US?

Requiring the package to be signed for is an option; most people don't want it because going to the post office to pick up your package is a huge pain, and thefts are pretty rare.

Why IS post-office pickup such a pain? I wish Amazon would just set up reception in post-offices across the US. :|
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