What To Do If Your Amazon Package Is Stolen

A new stealing trend has been rising in frequency, particularly in the United States. Porch piracy is the deed of stealing packages left on a porch or near the entrance of a house before the recipient can retrieve them. As of 2021, 23 million Americans have had their packages stolen from their homes. For Amazon lost packages, an average of 51 packages a year got reported missing or stolen. Porch pirates have taken advantage of the rise of e-commerce due to the pandemic to steal from others. And stolen Amazon packages are among the most frequent.

If you are one of these poor people who got their Amazon package stolen from the porch, don’t panic yet. Instead, consider your next steps. Amazon makes sure that it’s relatively easy to get in touch with them and sort out the stolenAmazon package issue. It may seem challenging to get in touch with Amazon, but they have a vast customer service program ready to help you figure out what to do if an Amazon package is stolen. We have listed below the steps on how to get assistance or report a lost or stolen Amazon package.

Someone Stole my Amazon Package. Now What?

If you are a new victim of porch piracy, we are here to guide you on what to do if your Amazon package is stolen or goes missing. There are some steps you need to take to ensure that your Amazon package was stolen from your porch before contacting Amazon to report a stolen package.

Step 1: Track the Amazon lost packages.

Know that Amazon sometimes marks a package as delivered before it actually arrives. If that’s the case, the package could show up at your front door within 48 hours. After 48 hours of waiting, you can check your property for a possible drop-off place for the package.

Before you report package theft to Amazon, search your porch and surrounding area carefully to ensure that you don’t find it in an unusual place. Drivers sometimes hide deliveries to minimize the risk of a stolen Amazon package. Courier companies may drop packages in unexpected places on your property, like the back porch or behind your potted plants.

If, after 48 hours, the Amazon package is still nowhere to be found, contact your courier immediately. Your package could still be in the hands of the shipping company. Ask them to track your package with the tracking number. But suppose the courier company is entirely sure that your package got delivered to your porch without any problems. In that case, it is time you report to Amazon for a stolen package.

Step 2: Check if your neighbors saw it or held onto it for you.

Before reporting a stolen package issue to Amazon, check with your neighbors first if they saw or captured a video of your package delivery on their home security cameras. They could also be holding your package to protect it from being stolen. Don’t immediately unleash your anger at the Amazon customer support service yet. It would not be very pleasant if your package were just taken in for safety by a kindly neighbor.

Step 3: Contact the seller or retailer.

If you are now entirely sure that your Amazon package was stolen from the porch, you can contact Amazon directly. Chat with customer service to let them know the details of the issue. Amazon retailers should be able to send out new packages or can issue refunds to the customer.

For third-party Amazon orders, contact the seller directly as part of Amazon’s A-Z Guarantee. Give the seller a day to respond to your chat. After that, proceed with the claim process for the missing or stolen package. Be sure to file the claim within 90 days of ordering.

Suppose the seller is not willing to resolve the issue by sending a new package or a refund. In that case, Amazon will be the one to decide whether to issue it to you. This decision depends on your answers to the claim process questions. In case your claim is denied, don’t worry. You can still appeal.

Step 4: File a claim with the shipping company

If the seller is shifting the responsibility to the shipping company, know that you can also file a claim with the latter. UPS, FedEx, USPS, and DHL all provide an online claims process for reporting your Amazon lost package.

Step 5: Claim high-value items with your insurance company.

If filing a claim with the sellers or shipping companies doesn’t work, you can look into your homeowners or renters insurance policies for stolen packages. But do note that this is only helpful if the refund is worth more than your deductible. This claim can be a hassle and more costly than you might think. Your insurance company could increase your premiums because of your claim. It’s probably not worth the trouble to recover a single inexpensive package.

Step 6: Use the purchase protection features on your credit card.

Since filing an insurance claim might not be worth it, you can turn to your credit card company for help. Suppose your credit card company offers a purchase protection plan. In that case, you can contact them instead to get reimbursement for your stolen items. But make sure that you purchased the item entirely with that credit card. Notify the card issuer first of this issue so they can accommodate your claim.

Step 7: Report the theft to the police.

It can be a headache to keep filing claims for Amazon lost packages if it keeps happening whenever you get a delivery. To avoid this from happening again, report the incident to the local police. Then, they’ll be aware of crime in the neighborhood. The police can heighten their surveillance around your area to spot porch pirates and prevent them from stealing further.

How To Stop Porch Pirates

Prevention is better than cure. For you to not fall victim to porch piracy in the future, take preventive measures.

Schedule for in-person delivery

How can you ensure your package gets delivered successfully? It’s always best to receive it in person. You can inform the courier company that a signature is required for delivery. Also, you can tell them that somebody must be present to receive package deliveries. If you are always away from home due to work, you can ask your neighbor to receive the package for you or change your shipping address to your office.

Use a lockbox service

Amazon offers lockers so you can easily pick your packages up at your convenience. Assuming the retailer you’re shopping from offers a similar delivery option, choose this if you really can’t receive your packages personally. That way, you don’t have to worry about your Amazon package being vulnerable on your porch.

Insure your packages

For high-value items such as smart devices, you can pay a few extra bucks to ensure their delivery. Retailers or courier companies offer these services for extra security and insurance for your package safety.

Install a security camera

Lastly, home security systems with cameras are always a good idea if porch piracy is prevalent in your neighborhood. Security cameras can help identify the individual who keeps stealing your packages. You can use the recording for proof when filing a reported case to the police.

Better yet, choose a security camera system with live video monitoring, like Deep Sentinel. Then, there’s always someone watching your front door, ready to intervene at the first sign of porch piracy.