Porch pirates: West Allis woman takes to social network to warn neighbors after package stolen



WEST ALLIS -- Many of us will have packages delivered this holiday season -- and a West Allis woman is sharing her experience in the hope that it will save you some hassle.

It's the busiest time of the year for the United States Postal Service, and Becky Burris is issuing a warning.

Becky Burris



"Not everybody is as honest as they should be," Burris said.

In November, Burris suspects a package was swiped from her front doorstep in West Allis.

"We got a confirmation that it had arrived -- and when we got home, it wasn't here," Burris said.

Fortunately, company officials agreed to resend the package.

"We got a confirmation it was on its way, so we told our neighbor to look out," Burris said.

Irv Igorski



80-year-old Irv Igorski lives next door.

"I watch out for my neighbors," Igorski said.

Igorski saw the delivery truck pull up -- and then, a white car. The white car took off, but soon, Igorski says he saw a man hop out of a black van down the street.

"He just had a black hoodie on. That's all I could see," Igorski said.

Igorski says the man walked toward Burris' home, and leaned against a rock wall across the street from the idling UPS truck.

When the truck took off, Igorski says the man started to walk toward the package -- but Igorski was able to intercept it.

"Then he turned around right away when he seen I had the package and took off," Igorski said.

Igorski says the man appeared to make a phone call, and was quickly picked up by a red car.

Burris is now warning others. She says she now requests that packages be dropped off inside her screened-in porch.



Burris posted about her experience on the social media network "Nextdoor" -- where neighbors across the country have posted videos of their own packages being stolen.

"I just posted and said 'hey, this is what happened,'" Burris said.

A United States postal inspector says there are steps you can take this holiday season to protect your packages.

"If they know that they are going to get things to delivered to their house, try and work with a neighbor or a family member to pick them up as soon as possible," Fran Pilon, U.S. postal inspector said.

Pilon also recommends getting signature confirmation, or picking up items right from the post office.

West Allis police say so far this holiday season, they haven't seen an increase or rash of package thefts.

Nextdoor



CLICK HERE to learn more about the Nextdoor social network.

CLICK HERE for more holiday shipping security tips via the United States Postal Service.