Law enforcement officials offer shopping safety tips this holiday season

Holiday shopping, and package stealing, are around the corner.

Home security videos circulating on social media showing a person sneak onto an unsuspecting porch and running off with a package are too common — one homeowner already encountered this.

“I was just confused, you know I first thought it was the delivery guy, and then I saw his regular car, and he ran into his car, and he was ducking as he came up to hide from the camera,” Courtney, a Wichita, Kansas local, told KWCH12.

Online shopping has proven it a convenient way to get holiday shopping done quickly. The 2019 Package Theft Report: Porch Pirates And Prevention found “68% of respondents even stated that they are unwilling to change their online purchasing habits around the holidays, despite the potential risk of package theft.”

“Thirty-six percent of United States adults surveyed say they’ve sent a package somewhere other than their home address, 54% say they’ve changed plans to receive a package in person and nearly seven in 10 said they weren’t willing to change up their online holiday shopping habits in the face of package theft,” according to the National Neighborhood Watch.

Kingston Police Chief Richard Kotchick told the PA homepage he’s already receiving calls about stolen packages.

“The only issue you have is when it turns into winter and the cold, you’re going to have people wearing masks or hoodies that cover themselves up a little bit,” Chief Kotchick said to the PA homepage.

The National Neighborhood Watch recommends trimming trees and shrubbery because they can act as cover for thieves.

About 25% of Americans have reported a package missing.

Christmastime is the busiest shopping period of the year, as well as the most notorious time for thieves to strike.

Law enforcement agencies nationwide begin offering safety tips and warnings even just before Thanksgiving.