10 Ways to Protect Your Holiday Packages

The Holidays will soon be upon us and that means mass amounts of online shopping, gift getting and eggnog drinking. But this time of year isn’t just about reindeer games and holiday cheer; it’s also kind of a big deal for the mail industry. With online purchases increasing every year and all those letters to Santa going all the way to the North Pole, it can get a bit crazy at the post office. Early polling is predicting a 47% increase in shopping over 2016’s Black Friday’s numbers alone! Now with all that mail being sent about it’s important to keep a watchful eye out for any important mail or packages because as shipments increase so do the opportunities for porch pirates to swipe your shiny new electronics. So, D-Link is here with some helpful tips to make sure all your mail and gifts stay safe and sound on your door step.

1. Track it

Using online tracking is one of the easiest and most convenient ways to keep an eye on any shipment. Most websites even include a specified time of drop off rather than just the day and will also notify you of any delays or if the item is being held at a local facility for pickup.

2. Ask a Friend

If you know you’ll either be out of the house or on vacation at the time of a scheduled delivery see if a neighbor or friend can either pick it up and hold it for you or put it in a designated hiding spot.

3. Leave a Note

One of the oldest tricks in the book is to simply leave a note for the delivery man with instructions to either hide it somewhere specific or even leave it at a neighbor’s house.

4. Require a Signature

Requiring a signature guarantees nothing will be left out in the open; the delivery man will leave a note saying they attempted to deliver so that you can choose whether to have them try again or pick it up from the specified location.

5. Have the Post Office Hold it

Another useful trick is you can actually ask your local post office to hold any deliveries there until you can pick them at your own convenience. With this option they will often text or email you to let you know it’s ready for pickup. The only caveat being if they have it for too long they will ship it back the sender, so don’t delay too much.

6. Add Some Decor

A simple and aesthetically pleasing fix to help ward off porch pirates is to make your porch or front door a little less sparse. If the package can be clearly seen from the road or sidewalk it’s especially vulnerable. By adding chairs, plants or an outdoor storage bench to place packages inside, it provides less of an opportunity for any packages to be seen and taken. For a more secure, yet pricier option, check out The Landport, it’s a lockable chest that can be accessed with a code. Landports come in a variety of sizes and colors and can be bolted down for extra security.

7. Don’t Make it a Surprise

If you plan on sending any gifts or boxes let the person you are sending it to know it’s coming so they can also plan ahead. Providing the receiver with the actual tracking information is also convenient.

8. Send it to the Locker

If you’re as avid of an Amazon user as I think you are, then consider trying Amazon Locker, it’s a fairly new concept from Amazon that allows you to pick up your packages at one of their locker locations. When ordering on Amazon just select the delivery to a nearby locker location (only available in select U.S. locations at this time) and they’ll send you an email with a one time access code when the package has arrived. Some locker locations are open 24/7 allowing you to pickup whenever is convenient for you, and you can also use them to easily return any orders.

9. Add a Wi-Fi Camera

If you have security cameras at home or have been having problems with package thieves, setting up a camera like one of D-Link’s Wi-Fi Cameras facing your door or walkway can help track any deliveries or activity. You can view the live feed anywhere with the mydlink app or record the feed using a micro SD card to view later.

10. Know the Minute it Arrives

A great feature on several D-Link cameras is the motion and sound detection capability which can be configured to notify you via email or text any time one of your pre-set alerts is triggered. In the camera settings you can set up motion detection and pinpoint the specific area you want to track movement. You can also set it up to send a snapshot or video clip notification whenever motion is detected. When setting the sound detection, you are able to set the volume level for which you want to be notified if exceeded.

Using just a few of these many tips are an easy way to guarantee any precious package gets delivered safely and is saved from those few package stealing Grinch’s who just haven’t seemed to get in the holiday spirit.