Illinois Porch Pirates: They Steal The Most During These Two Days

When I flipped my office calendar over to November earlier this morning, I realized that there are just over 50 days left before Christmas, 2024. I also realized at that moment that there are far fewer shopping days left than that, especially if you're someone who mails out a lot of gifts each year.

What I'm getting at here is that we're in the holiday season whether you've realized it yet or not, and package deliveries are just about to skyrocket here in Illinois and across the nation. Delivery drivers will be all over the streets every day and night, dropping off packages on front porches as they go.

That also means that package thieves, also known as "Porch Pirates" (which makes them seem more dashing and adventurous than "Dirt Bags Who Steal Other People's Stuff") will be looking at your front porch, too.

Let's look at the two days that package thieves are more likely to strike than any other days:

Porch Pirates Love Doing Their Thing On Mondays And Tuesdays, And This Isn't Just About The Package Thieves Who Swipe Stuff During The Holidays--It Goes On All Year, Too

Unfortunately, we're not theft-free during non-holiday months. Consider some of these numbers (courtesy of Finder.com):

• Roughly 14% of Americans say they’ve been victims of package theft in the last 12 months
• This equates to about 35.5 million Americans and an average value of $156.82 being reported stolen
• Americans lost about $5.4 billion from package theft over the past 12 months courtesy of porch pirates.
• Of the 14% who have had packages stolen, about 39% said they only had one package stolen, roughly 36% said that they had at least two packages taken

So Which Two Days Are The Worst Days For Porch Piracy?

The survey by smart home company Vivint polled over 1,000 people about their previous experiences with package thievery and online shopping. The poll asked a bunch of questions, including which items are stolen most often, the most common days for package theft, the most common times for package theft, and which carrier has their stuff stolen the most.

It turns out that Monday and Tuesday are the days when porch pirates are most actively swiping things off of front porches, followed by Wednesday, Sunday, Friday, Thursday, and then Saturday. Afternoons, followed by evenings, and mornings were the most likely times that a porch pirate would pay a visit.

Lastly, of the carriers who bring things to your house, deliveries from Amazon Prime are the most likely to be pilfered, with USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL following behind. (Click here to read more specifics from the Vivint poll)