New Albany Police are offering tips to help you prevent package theft during the holiday season. NAPD detectives suggest the following tips to protect yourself from being a victim.

• Invest in a home security camera because porch pirates tend to be camera shy.

• Get to know your neighbors. They can keep an eye out for your package or even have it delivered to their home. When at all possible, schedule a delivery time so someone is home to receive your package.

• If you shop on Amazon, think about picking up your package from their collection points.

• Keep packages out of sight if you go shopping the traditional way. If you’re going from the store to your car, try not to make multiple trips. If you must leave packages in your care, leave them somewhere secure like in the trunk or a covered portion of your SUV.

• Try to minimize the number of trips to the vehicle with your packages because you never know who is watching.

Porch pirates cost Americans an estimated $15 billion in the past year with over 104 million packages stolen nationwide, according to SafeWise, a home safety research company. That’s roughly 250,000 stolen packages every day.

As always, if you see anything suspicious, give NAPD a call at 614-855-1234