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A box on the porch is an easy target, and it can say more than you’d like. Portland’s police bureau notes that thieves often target homes with visible, untended packages, and that those packages can signal the home is unoccupied, which may make it a target for burglary. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service puts it plainly: you wouldn’t leave important items on the front seat of an unlocked car overnight, so don’t leave mail and packages sitting on the porch.
The major carriers already offer most of the tools you need, many of them free. This guide covers what each offers, when to hold, lock, or sign for a package, and what to do if one goes missing.
Quick picks
See locking parcel delivery boxes (paid link)
See video doorbell cameras with two-factor login (paid link)
Start with the deliveries that matter most
Not every package needs special handling. A pack of paper towels can sit on the porch for an hour. These deserve more care:
- Coins, bullion, and jewelry you’ve ordered.
- Replacement IDs, bank cards, and checks. USPIS advises contacting the sender quickly if a check, credit card, or other valuable mail you’re expecting doesn’t arrive.
- Electronics and anything with your personal information on it.
- Safe parts, keys, and combination paperwork from a safe maker.
For these, plan the delivery before it ships.
Step 1: Know when it’s coming
Tracking alerts let you be home, or at least get a neighbor to grab the box, when it arrives.
- USPS Informed Delivery is free. It sends a Daily Digest email previewing incoming mail and packages, with grayscale images of the address side of letter-sized mail and status updates for packages.
- UPS My Choice has a free Basic membership. UPS lists delivery alerts, proof-of-delivery photos, estimated delivery times, and the ability to tell the driver where to leave a package.
- FedEx Delivery Manager is free and sends tracking alerts and photo proof of delivery.
Step 2: Have it held at a carrier location
The most reliable way to stop porch theft is to keep the package off the porch.
USPS. USPS Hold Mail holds your mail at your local Post Office for a minimum of 3 days and a maximum of 30 days. You can request it up to 30 days in advance, and USPS now requires you to verify your identity online before submitting a request. For a package already in transit, USPS Package Intercept can redirect it to a Post Office as Hold For Pickup. USPS describes Intercept as a paid service for the sender or an authorized representative. It isn’t guaranteed, and a fee applies only if the intercept succeeds. USPIS also suggests recipients use Intercept to redirect a package to their local Post Office.
UPS. UPS Access Point locations are participating retailers and The UPS Store locations. UPS says you have seven calendar days to pick up a package there, and you’ll normally need your ID and tracking number. Special cases may call for a package release code or a utility bill. For My Choice members, UPS customer centers hold packages for up to five business days.
FedEx. FedEx Hold at Location redirects a package to a FedEx location. Enter your tracking number, choose Manage Delivery, then Hold at Location. FedEx notifies you by text, call, or email when it’s ready. Someone who lives with you can pick it up with the tracking number and a government-issued photo ID showing the same address. If you redirect the package through FedEx Delivery Manager, you get a pickup QR code you can share with someone else, unless the package requires an adult signature. FedEx’s pages list different hold periods by service, so check the window on your tracking page.
Step 3: Use a locker
Amazon Locker is a self-service pickup spot for Amazon orders. When the package arrives, Amazon emails a delivery confirmation with the locker’s address and opening times. Lockers with a screen use a 6-digit pickup code or a barcode. Screenless lockers connect to the Amazon Shopping app over Bluetooth. If someone else is picking up for you, forward them the confirmation email.
Two cautions from Amazon’s help pages:
- Uncollected packages go back. If you don’t collect the package, it’s returned to Amazon, so read the pickup instructions in your email carefully.
- Apartment lockers work differently. In Amazon Apartment Lockers, a package stays until the property manager empties the compartment, so check with the manager before reporting it missing.
Step 4: Add a locking parcel box at home
If packages often come when you’re out, a lockbox is the at-home version of a locker. Portland police suggest a locking parcel delivery box that can be bolted down or secured, and the Wake County Sheriff’s Office also recommends lockboxes.
To make one work:
- Anchor it. An unanchored box can simply be carried away.
- Tell carriers how to use it. USPS lets you add Delivery Instructions from Track a Package. UPS My Choice lets you say where at your home to leave packages.
- Size it for your usual deliveries. A box that’s too small means the driver leaves the package on the porch anyway.
- Keep it out of street view if you can. Portland police advise choosing a spot that conceals packages from people walking or driving by.
If the box sits beside the front door, the door itself still matters. Our budget door security guide covers strike plates, long screws, and deadbolts.
What to look for: a locking parcel delivery box with anchor holes.
See locking parcel delivery boxes (paid link)
Step 5: Require a signature for valuables
Portland police note that requiring a signature ensures someone is there to receive the package. It matters most for coins, jewelry, and replacement cards. Usually, though, the shipper chooses the signature level when creating the label, so ask the seller before you order.
FedEx explains its levels this way:
- Adult Signature Required: someone 21 or older with a valid government-issued photo ID. Electronic signatures aren’t accepted.
- Direct Signature Required: someone at the address must sign. If no one is available, FedEx reattempts delivery or holds the package nearby.
- Indirect Signature Required: a neighbor or building manager can sign, and the recipient can authorize release with no one present. Releasing a valuable package this way gives up the protection you asked for.
- No Signature Required: FedEx doesn’t apply it automatically. The shipper chooses it, and the driver may then leave the package no matter the circumstances.
For high-value shipments, FedEx also offers Authenticated Delivery, a paid upgrade the shipper can select on some expedited services. The driver hands over the package only after scanning a QR code that FedEx sends to the recipient.
USPS has a shortcut that works the other way. If you register an electronic signature through Informed Delivery, USPS can leave Signature Required packages in your mailbox or another spot you choose. Skip it for valuables.
For USPS, USPIS says Signature Confirmation requires a first initial and last name at delivery. For the most valuable shipments, Registered Mail gets special handling and documentation from mailing to delivery.
Step 6: Put a camera on the door
The Wake County Sheriff’s Office recommends security cameras or a video doorbell to watch your front door. USPIS adds that cameras should capture both the front door and the mailbox, and that if you catch mail thieves on video, you should save it and alert Postal Inspectors.
Carrier delivery photos from UPS and FedEx also show where a driver left a package.
Before you install, read our cameras and alarms guide. It covers audio-recording laws, camera placement, and how to lock down camera accounts so the camera doesn’t become a risk of its own.
What to look for: a video doorbell camera with two-factor login.
See video doorbell cameras with two-factor login (paid link)
If a package shows “delivered” but isn’t there
Amazon’s help page suggests working through these steps:
- Confirm the shipping address on the order.
- Look for a delivery photo or a notice of a delivery attempt, and check your mailbox.
- Check the spot named in your delivery instructions.
- Ask household members and neighbors.
- Wait up to 48 hours. Amazon says packages may be scanned as delivered before they arrive.
- Contact the carrier.
For orders shipped by Amazon, Amazon says to contact customer service within 30 days of the expected delivery date. For third-party sellers, contact the seller first.
If you believe it was stolen, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office advises reporting it to the delivery service and your local law enforcement agency, and providing any security footage.
Watch out for fake delivery texts
Package scams don’t always involve the porch. The FTC warns that scammers send fake delivery messages, such as a missed delivery that needs rescheduling or shipping preferences that need updating, to get you to click a link and enter personal or financial information on a look-alike site. If a message seems real, check the retailer’s site or contact the carrier through a website or phone number you know is real. USPIS adds that USPS won’t text or email you unless you requested tracking with a tracking number, and those messages won’t contain a link. It suggests forwarding scam texts to 7726.
Quick checklist
- Alerts on: Informed Delivery, UPS My Choice, FedEx Delivery Manager
- Valuables held at a Post Office, UPS Access Point, or FedEx location
- Amazon orders sent to a Locker when you’ll be away
- Locking parcel box bolted down, with delivery instructions set
- Signature required for coins, jewelry, and cards (ask the shipper)
- Camera covering the door and mailbox
- Missing-package steps and theft report ready
- No clicking links in unexpected delivery texts
Bottom line
Package theft is mostly a timing problem: a box sits outside longer than it should. Track deliveries, hold valuables at a carrier location or locker, use a bolted lockbox for routine packages, and require a signature for anything you can’t afford to lose. Add a camera on the door, and you’ve covered the basics.
Sources
- Portland Police Bureau (City of Portland, OR) — Package Theft Prevention: How to Keep Your Deliveries Safe (visible packages signal an unoccupied home; secure delivery locations; signature; tracking; concealed placement; locking parcel box bolted down). https://www.portland.gov/police/news/2023/12/11/package-theft-prevention-how-keep-your-deliveries-safe
- U.S. Postal Inspection Service — Holiday Readiness (don’t leave packages unattended; Hold Mail; Hold for Pickup via Intercept; Delivery Instructions; Signature Confirmation; Registered Mail; cameras on door and mailbox; report to Postal Inspectors). https://www.uspis.gov/holiday-readiness
- U.S. Postal Inspection Service — Mail & Package Theft (contact the sender about overdue valuable mail). https://www.uspis.gov/tips-prevention/mail-theft
- USPS — Informed Delivery (free; Daily Digest; grayscale images; package status; electronic signature for Signature Required packages). https://www.usps.com/manage/informed-delivery.htm
- USPS — Hold Mail (3 to 30 days; request up to 30 days ahead; identity verification). https://www.usps.com/manage/hold-mail.htm
- USPS — Package Intercept (sender or authorized representative; Hold For Pickup; fee only if intercepted; not guaranteed). https://www.usps.com/manage/package-intercept.htm
- UPS — UPS My Choice (free Basic membership; alerts; delivery photos; delivery instructions; Access Point hold up to seven days; customer centers five business days). https://www.ups.com/us/en/track/ups-my-choice
- UPS — UPS Access Point (participating retailers and The UPS Store; seven calendar days; ID and tracking number; release code or utility bill). https://www.ups.com/us/en/business-solutions/expand-your-online-business/ups-access-point
- FedEx — Hold at Location (how to request; notifications; household pickup with ID; QR code sharing; adult signature exception). https://www.fedex.com/en-us/shipping/hold-at-location.html
- FedEx — Delivery Options and Signature Services (shipper chooses signature level; ASR, DSR, ISR, NSR; Authenticated Delivery; hold periods; Delivery Manager). https://www.fedex.com/en-us/delivery-options/signature-services.html
- FedEx — FedEx Delivery Manager (free sign-up; alerts; picture proof of delivery; hold for pickup at FedEx Office, Walgreens, and other locations; hold period). https://www.fedex.com/en-us/delivery-manager.html
- Amazon — Amazon Locker (self-service pickup; confirmation email with address and hours; locker types). https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GXCWH4CXLKJD8Z52
- Amazon — Collect a Package at an Amazon Locker (pickup code or app; uncollected packages returned; forwarding the email; Apartment Lockers). https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201117870
- Amazon — Find a Missing Package that Shows as Delivered (steps; 48-hour wait; 30-day contact window; third-party sellers). https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/?nodeId=GCU8BWGTQNJKQEBS
- Wake County Sheriff’s Office (Wake County, NC) — Package Theft Prevention (cameras or video doorbell; lockboxes; signatures; reporting thefts with footage). https://www.wake.gov/package-theft-prevention
- Federal Trade Commission — Fake shipping notification emails and text messages (Dec. 14, 2023). https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2023/12/fake-shipping-notification-emails-text-messages-what-you-need-know-holiday-season
- U.S. Postal Inspection Service — Smishing: Package Tracking Text Scams (USPS texts only after a tracking request and without links; forward to 7726). https://www.uspis.gov/news/scam-article/smishing-package-tracking-text-scams