With Christmas and the start of Hanukkah just days away, a lot of us are shopping online to have last-minute gifts delivered to our homes.

While it can be more convenient than going to a brick-or-mortar store, it also offers an easy target for thieves.

Ali Rogan reports on this growing crime and how you can protect the items on your wish list.

They're known as porch pirates or package thieves, and they're targeting neighborhoods across

the country. They surveil homes, watch for delivery trucks, and then steal what gets left

outside your front door. In 2023, they swiped nearly $16 billion worth of goods this way.

We spoke to people who've experienced these porch pirates firsthand.

My first encounter with porch pirates was when I just moved into this neighborhood.

It's an urban neighborhood, and we all have sto stoop and we don't have front yards. So

when delivery drivers come and just throw the packages on the stoop, it's very easy for thieves

to sort of follow behind them and just pick things up as they go. I've had 10 packages in the last year

tampered with or stolen completely, including my nephew's 18th birthday present. I get a text

Friday morning from a neighbor and he said, Holly, we found a package, just packaging on the side of the road.

And it's addressed to you, but there's nothing in it.

They take things that could not possibly be of use to them.

And they just make life difficult for others.

And I don't know how much they gain from it.

Rebecca Edwards is a reporter at safewise.com,

a research website that focuses on home and community security.

Rebecca, thank you so much for joining us.

Stealing is not a new phenomenon,

but these particular types of theft have grown in recent years in popularity.

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