Instant karma: Teach thieves a lesson with this booby-trapped 'package'
TAMPA (FOX 13) - We've all seen video of porch pirates pilfering people's packages, but one Washington State man got so fed up that he decided to do something about it. Now, videos of his creative solution are getting worldwide attention and business is booming.
The 'Blank Box,' as Jaireme Barrow calls it, can be disguised to look like a postal package from afar, but instead of holiday goodies, it's filled with comeuppance - in the form of blank 12-gauge shotgun shells that go off when disturbed.
"If you put this device out the day you are scheduled to get a delivery and someone decides to help themselves to your package, you better believe they will drop everything and run," Barrow's website explains.
Videos taken by his surveillance cameras shows exactly that: People he says are suspects approaching his home and grabbing the "box" - only to be startled by the sudden sound of a shotgun blast. Some even fall over themselves as they try to scramble away.
Barrow says his porch is a magnet for thieves and provides him with a seemingly endless supply of suspects to star in his YouTube Channel.
"It's an epidemic," he told FOX 13. "The majority of shopping is done online. My area in particular is on a busy street. People just make it a 9-to-5 [job] driving up and down the street, hoping sometimes they get lucky."
Here in the Bay Area, law enforcement agencies have recently issued warnings about package thefts, and several recent such arrests have made headlines, thanks to homeowners' video surveillance.
The drop in price of quality surveillance cameras has helped make it easier to catch thieves, but Barrow feels his invention takes it to another level.
"It's instant karma," he continued. "You see people running off…kind of one way to level the playing field. If you have surveillance, you get to see instant justice."
Barrow says he's gotten inquiries from as far away as Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, and even Russia for the gadget, which starts at $49.99. In fact, he's sold out for the holidays but promises to stay busy fulfilling orders.
"I'm going to do the best I can to make sure that everybody who wants one has a Blank Box under the Christmas tree - unarmed, of course."
LINK: For more information, www.theblankbox.com