Kindle Stolen from Porch; How Vulnerable Are Doorstep Deliveries?

A Kirkwood resident waiting for a Kindle Fire tablet computer found nothing but an empty box, taped back up, on the front porch of her home in the 1300 block of Bent Oak Court last Friday.

The resident reported the theft to Kirkwood police, who said in a report that the delivery box was by her front door.

The delivery service, UPS, said the delivery had actually been made the day before the resident found the package.

Kindle Fire tablets range from $159 to $499, depending on the model, and are sold exclusively by Amazon.com through its online store.

An online search can find numerous examples of merchandise being swiped from the porch of customers. Online stores like Amazon have reader comment forums laden with similar stories.

In Birmingham, AL, on the same day as the Kirkwood incident, a resident lost a Toshiba laptop computer delivered by UPS. The delivery service has a detailed process for handling "lost" packages.

Services such as UPS and FedEx offer advice for protecting packages from theft such as:

• Directing them to be delivered to retail locations using their online tools.
• Use online tools that can set the specific delivery time for a package.
• Some of those tools provide for an email or text message the day before their packages are delivered.