Hoboken Police Arrest Holiday Package Thieves, Offer Top 10 Gift Safety Tips

After arresting several package thieves within the last week, the Hoboken Police Department along with the City are offering safety tips for local residents with high priced gifts at home.

“Thefts and break-ins often increase during the holidays, since thieves know that many homes are empty and stocked with high-priced gifts,” a representative from the City of Hoboken said. “Thieves also target the large numbers of packages left on doorsteps, in lobbies and other common areas.”

Here are 10 safety tips from the City to help you and your gifts stay out of the hands of holiday thieves.

1) Choose a shipping option that requires you to sign for delivery.

2) Check on the package’s delivery status online so you can try to be home when it arrives.

3) Leave a note asking the delivery service to leave the package with a neighbor.

4) Have the package shipped to another location where someone can receive it, like your office or a friend’s home.

5) Ask the delivery service to hold your package for customer pick-up.

6) File a theft report immediately if you think your package was stolen.

7) Contact your credit card company to find out if it offers a purchase-protection service that might reimburse you for stolen purchases.

8) Keep your gifts out of plain sight. “In too many cases, residents make it easy for burglars to figure out which homes to target by putting boxes that identify their new gifts in plain view with their other garbage,” a rep from the City said.

9) Avoid becoming an easy target for post-holiday burglars. Do not leave boxes for new electronics and other gift items in the alley or other garbage pick-up locations for several days at a time.

10) Keep broken-down boxes inside until the evening before your regular garbage pick-up. Some burglars actually look inside garbage cans for evidence of holiday gifts.

Related Stories on Hoboken Patch:

• Storm Looks To Hit Hoboken During Holiday Travel
• Home for the Holidays: Hoboken Comes Together to Find Lost Dog
• Hoboken to Offer Free Garage Parking During the Holiday Season
• Mayor Zimmer Names Former Hoboken Fire Captain Coordinator of Emergency Management

Photo courtesy of the City of Hoboken