How to prevent porch pirates from targeting your packages this holiday season

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Cyber Monday set a new record for spending this year: Americans spent $11.3 billion, according to Adobe Analytics. That's the most spending we've seen in a single day all year.

Adobe Analytics said the top searched items included LEGOs, the PlayStation 5, Hot Wheels, Madden 23 and smart watches.

So all those online orders have to now get to your house, which means boxes are usually sitting outside your home or apartment. It's an opportunity for porch pirates to steal, which is really common this time of year.

Rebecca Edwards, a home security expert with SafeWise, joined Eyewitness News live to discuss how you can prevent these crimes of opportunity.

While Chicago wasn't among the cities where porch pirates were found to be most active, Edwards said that is because the city didn't report any larceny theft data to the FBI.

"But they did have high searches for Google Trends looking for stolen packages, lost and stolen packages," Edwards said. "So I do think that there are some package thieves out there in Chicago doing their worst."

With the news that the Palos Park Police Department is about to make their building available for residents to have packages delivered, Edwards said changing your delivery location is one of the top ways to prevent theft.

"Have them re-routed to a package locker depot, Amazon Lockers are all over the place," Edwards suggested. "Sometimes FedEx or UPS, you can hold it at their place or send it off to a convenience store like Walmart."

She also suggested signing up for delivery alerts so you know exactly when your package is coming and to require a signature at delivery.