Police warn of porch pirates during the holiday season

PHILADELPHIA - 'Tis the season for porch pirates with millions of orders and deliveries made across the United States during the holiday season..

Cyber Monday and Black Friday deals will have packages arriving this week. However, some Philadelphia residents say they won't be ordering because of porch pirates.

"At 3:30 that camera goes on and he comes in and grabs the package," Northeast Philadelphia resident Paola Colon told FOX 29.

A Ring doorbell camera shows a man approaching Paola Colon's front door, opening the screen door took her package and ran.

In Burlington County, police believe they just caught a serial package thief. Police say Joshua Watson was impersonating a delivery man to steal from houses along Parry Road in Cinnaminson, New Jersey.

With so many thefts in the area, some residents say they are now going to buy a security system.

"I love buying things online. The convenience is great but it is awful scary thinking your packages may not come," Pat Vigneau said.

The alleged thief was wearing a reflective vest like the one shown in Colon's video. Cinnaminson police accuse that man of committing thefts across multiple municipalities. They say he was approaching porches with a package already in hand. It's something the Chief of Cinnaminson Police allege helped him blend in.

Chief Calabrese says there are steps you can take to make sure your package gets delivered safely.

"Camera surveillance that's number one, number two is let your neighbors know you have packages coming, number three is if you see something suspicious say something," Chief Calabrese said.