Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

bbc.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

511–520 of 940 posts

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#511

Post by bbarn »

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 work from home full time, and get typically 1-2 a day. I have a sign that says "Please ring bell for deliveries, home all day!" on my front porch and it's never rung. Packages just tossed on the porch. Amazon I get a notification on Alexa sometimes before the UPS guy is back to his truck though, so that helps.

Contrast to that - before I moved to this house, my old UPS guy used to honk and wave if he saw me walking down the street, knew me by name and would knock every time.

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#512

Post by will_brown »

I just told this story on HN, but my car window was smashed on 10/13/18 and the theives got my wallet and house keys.

They used my credit card at foot locker (~$500), The Store Manager confirmed two guys made the purchase and corporate said they would turn over the video if police just ask.

A month later the bank fraud dept informed me someone was trying to cash a fake check ($1,600) against my account at an ATM using my ID (stolen from the car) and they ATM video shows the guy and the would turn it over to police if they requested it.

I even emailed the detective with chain and all he had to do was reply all, but the detective refuses (“we don’t look into these things”). Meanwhile these people have my address and key (even though I rekeyed) they may be lurking and try to come in, and I should be entitled to know what these people look like.

I was attacked on HN for suggesting this but I’ll suggest it again, since the author of this post already had video of these theives, there needs to be a platform to post these videos for the public to crowdsource the identity of these people.

I know there are not police resources to pursue every amazon purchase, but in my case it was grand theft and it’s ongoing, and likely to escalate, but the police are unwilling to do anything to help (but be damn sure they’d look into it if they were the victims).

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#513

Post by jessriedel »

magic_beans wrote: post #510
jessriedel wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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. :|

The real solution would be a simple box on your porch that only opens once without a key, of has a one-way mechanism, or that the delivery guy has a one-time code for. These have been tried in various forms, but they never catch one.

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#514

Post by jjeaff »

c22 wrote: post #487
dr_orpheus wrote: post #476

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have had good experiences with people delivering packages and caring about how obvious it is that there are packages out. When I lived a row of townhouses, the front doors of the houses were very exposed and visible from the street. So if we didn't answer the door when a package was delivered, they would bring it around to our back porch and set it over the fence. However, this did result in one of the delivery dri…

One time UPS left a 2ft x 3ft x 1ft box under my doormat. I appreciated the effort, but the package was not inconspicuous.

I've seen that a few times too. I wonder if it is actually to try to protect it from rain?

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#515

Post by chaoticmass »

technofiend wrote: post #326
isoprophlex wrote: post #277

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Too bad the fart spray seemed to have ran out at that point. I was waiting for the guy to be sprayed...

Maybe version two will have a fart spray auto loader.

I think a way to aerate the fart spray into the glitter as it launches out would be a nice touch, not only would the glitter get on everything, it would smell bad and be hard to get out.

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#516

Post by jjeaff »

lucb1e wrote: post #497
shaftway wrote: post #390

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> average 3 deliveries per day Wow. I really wonder what the environmental impact is of just one household doing this. I think I order something once every.. two months maybe? Three? And if I could get the desired electronics in a local store, I probably would. Edit: To reply to the three initial comments at once, I see your point. I was thinking "but it's not just about the last mile, it's about getting that package…

Assuming there are other nearby deliveries (there always are), then you driving to the local store to buy it would pollute much more.

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#517

Post by magic_beans »

zamalek wrote: post #448
vorpalhex wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IANAL but my understanding is that it's generally illegal to have any kind of "booby trap". The concern (and also legal test) is whether or not it would be likely to spring on a first responder. If you have your house fill with knockout gas whenever someone enters and a fireman needs to kick in your front door, you're going to jail. Someone entering illegally such a burglar still can bring a suit around a booby trap…

My brothers friend was sued for medical expenses by a perp who broke something falling over toys the kid hadn't packed away. More than a decade ago, but it does confirm your understanding of the situation.

I do not believe this. Or if your friend WAS sued, I wouldn't be surprised if the case was thrown out.

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#518

Post by jjeaff »

kbenson wrote: post #467
ChuckMcM wrote: post #350

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would be fun to have it do motion tracking (could use directional audio to track). It always freaks people out when a camera like device is following their movement.

At the point we're talking about a fake camera, directional audio is probably overkill. Just put one of those cheap motion trackers up that turns on lights and hook it up to a relatively loud actuator that shows that camera moving very slowly for 3-4 seconds. Sound to draw attention if they didn't already see it, movement so they think it's smart enough to track them or someone is controlling it, and it looks like a…

Or just get an actual camera and set it to track back and forth. Most of them have that option.

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#519

Post by darkarmani »

alkonaut wrote: post #334
entity345 wrote: post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well that's quite different from putting a CCTV on your front porch... which isn't a felony.

Filming the way these cameras show which include part of the street would probably be considered not-ok in many jurisdictions.

Not inside the US. There is no expectation of privacy when you are in public.

Re: Glitter bomb tricks parcel thieves

#520

Post by jjeaff »

ergothus wrote: post #342
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…

In the video we see many people stealing from porches with video cameras, and the author mentions that the police didn't take action even with video evidence. While I think your suggestion would reduce the chance of theft, I think you overestimate the accuracy of the risk-benefit analysis happening in the thieves' minds, as well as the actual risk involved. I mean, the activity is already dumb from a risk analysis po…

Problem is that some package thieves just trail behind the delivery truck. So even if hidden, they know it's there.
Post reply on HN