Unfortunately package theft is common. Our neighborhood suffered several thefts and eventually the police put fake packages with GPS trackers into the delivery boxes then waited to see where they went. They ended up in the house of the person who delivered the newspaper..
Happens here in London, UK. Amazon like to leave packages on my doorstep. Stolen every single time. To fix this they appear to have left instructions to "sling it over the back fence" or "jam it in the letterbox and destroy it".
That seems rather risky. I see lots of people rummaging through recycling cans on the street for the recycling value of the cans and bottles. Or someone could just throw a big gross thing on top of it.
I was amazed to learn that the USPS leaves packages on the door step, always. I mean this was a surprise to me because I grew up in the UK where said package would be stolen in short order, and then for the past 20 years living in the US I was in either apartments where there is no doorstep, or out in the wilds where the postman doesn't come within a few miles of your doorstep. I'd never been in a situation where the post office were able to leave a package on my stoop. But now we have an office location in town with a bone fide door step, right on a busy street and they leave packages in plain sight. When I expressed surprise I was told this is standard procedure for the USPS everywhere. I have a security camera pointed at the door step and so far no thief has stepped forward to have their picture taken...
This reminds me of a segment on Top Gear (the BBC TV show for those unaware) in which Jeremy Clarkson is lamenting that having a pickup truck in the UK would result in your belongings in the bed being stolen when stopped.
For what it's worth, I have ordered many online items (100+) over the last several years, and every one has been left on my doorstep by USPS or UPS. The only time I have had a package stolen was during a summer I spent in a notably dangerous area. The rest of the orders were safely delivered, in my case to a college-town apartment or a suburban family home.
Fair enough, but counterpoint: I live in a vintage building on a busy street, and the USPS carriers never leave packages on our doorstep. Each apartment has put up a little sign on their front door indicating how they'd prefer packages left (on the stairs, out back, whatever), which the postal workers all adhere to.
I see them walking past my window, from the front of the building to the back, all the time.
I got dire warnings from my neighbor when I bought my house that package thieves were on the loose (along with warnings about coyotes and heroin addicts). So far the packages have been fine and I haven't seen any coyotes or heroin addicts either, so hopefully my run of good luck continues.
I mean I'm sure all that stuff is going on somewhere, but, irrational as it may be, as long as I personally haven't encountered it I don't feel compelled to take any particular countermeasures.
