Cyber Monday sales, according to Amazon, will top $6.6 billion in sales, that adds up to millions of packages to be delivered.
Some homeowners are beefing up their security with doorbell cameras. People who have a Ring doorbell camera know it records any person that comes to your door, suspicious or not. Up until recently, if you didn't have the technology yourself, you wouldn't know what might be on a neighbor's camera, but now if you have a cell phone you can.
The Ring app also has a neighborhood feature where even those without the technology can see the video Ring users in their neighborhood are posting.
By the time Carlos Polanco checked the alert on this phone that someone was at his door, it was too late.
"My guess would be they were following the truck," said Polanco.
His doorbell camera caught the thief on camera. The man came up to the porch of his Lake Charleston home, stuffed a package in his pants and left. Polanco's wife called him very upset, telling him his Christmas gift was in that package.
"Oh my God, I want to cry, you know, what do I do?" said Polanco, describing what his wife said to him. "I said, there's nothing you can do."
But there was. Polanco shared the video with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and then shared the video on the neighborhood feature on the Ring App so even neighbors who don't have the technology can see the video.
"Back then, you had to put a flyer out there. Imagine how much neighborhood, territory you'd have to cover with just one click everybody knows," said Polanco.
The app is downloaded just like the Ring app, you put in your address and it shows you what Ring doorbell users are sharing near you.
"Thanks for letting us know, where did this occur?" said Polanco as he read the comments on the video he posted.
Other neighborhoods use apps like Next Door or their community Facebook pages, Polanco said sharing the video may or may not lead to an arrest, but more people will be looking out for package thieves.
"This is the holidays. I'm not going to be the first or the last," he said.
Other options to make sure your package is received are to have your packages shipped to your office. You can also download the Fedex Delivery Manager App or become a member of UPS MyChoice program so you can change your destinations at your convenience. You can also have your packages sent to a UPS or Fedex Facility or have a family member, neighbor, or friend receive it for you.
