Gardaí are warning homeowners to be wary of ordering online if they won’t be home to receive their parcel from a delivery driver.
This comes alongside a reported increase in cases where packages are being stolen off front door steps or from inside unlocked porch doors.
With Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the Christmas season fast approaching, online ordering will be booming as people try to nab some last-minute bargains from their presents list.
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Gardaí say they are aware of a number of incidents where couriers deliver the goods to a person's home address when no one answers the door, only for them to be swooped by chancers.
This follows a recent incident where a package was stolen from an apartment block in Fermoy.
Sergeant John Kelly from Fermoy Garda Station told C103 that anyone ordering online needs to have arrangements to ensure their deliveries are collected safely.
Officers are aware that oftentimes, delivery drivers are followed by culprits looking to rob whatever parcels they can. So when a driver is seen placing a package in a front garden or just inside a porch, they are swiped.
“I mean we’re coming up to Christmas, we’re coming up to Black Friday and so you’d encourage everybody to do as much of their shopping on the main street - keep our main streets alive you know.
“But inevitably there will be some items that maybe that you can’t get in your local town so you’re going to have to go online to get them,” Sergeant Kelly said.
“Just have a plan in place, you know, I saw one incident here the other day where there was a package left at the front door of an apartment here in Fermoy and somebody was seen taking it a few minutes after being delivered.
“So please, if you are getting stuff delivered, make sure you’re getting it dropped to somewhere where there is somebody, or make sure to make arrangements to collect it somewhere afterward.
“We have seen in the past, particularly coming up to Christmas, and I remember there was one in yaul last year or the year before where it seemed to be that there was always a car following the delivery drivers and if they then saw the package was left inside the patio door, we’d get a call afterward.”
Homeowners are also being asked to lock up and light up by gardai as the number of home burglaries increases with the longer and darker evenings.
Leaving a light on is key to deterring criminals from entering your home, particularly in the run-up to Christmas when homes are loaded with gifts for friends and loved ones.
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