February 24, 2026 • 5 minute read
Author: Jessica Denbo Smith, Director, US Marketing, UPS

• Customers lost $12 billion worth of packages to porch pirates in 2024.¹
• New AI delivery technology identifies high-risk delivery locations.
• UPS provides you with a variety of safety measures that can reduce the likelihood of package theft.

Package theft has become a pervasive problem for small- and medium-size businesses, and their customers. In 2024, porch pirates stole more than $12 billion worth of goods, and nearly 60 million people had their packages stolen.¹

Delivery theft can be time consuming and lead to a poor customer experience for your buyers, but with a great delivery partner and technology, you can reduce lost time and maintain an excellent customer experience. Here are 8 best practices you can use to protect your deliveries from porch pirates.

Your customers won’t always be home to receive a package, so having the option to reroute the item to a shipping storefront or alternate pickup location can be the peace of mind they need. And alternative delivery locations can be ideal for customers who live in apartments, because they’re twice as likely to lose a package to theft compared to those who live in houses.¹

Through our shipping services, you can give your customers the ability to reroute their package to one of our more than 5,400 The UPS Store^® locations or around 16,000 UPS Access Point® locations.

UPS Access Point^® locations add another layer of defense, too. In addition to requiring identification, shippers can elect to make a PIN required to ensure the package is picked up by an authorized user.

UPS’ DeliveryDefense® technology leverages AI and machine learning to analyze factors such as delivery location, loss frequency, and delivery attempts. The tool then groups addresses based on similarities and generates a score reflecting the likelihood of a successful delivery. Based on the successful delivery score, UPS or the shipper can take action, such as rerouting the package to a secure access point, adjusting delivery requirements, or notifying the customer about potential risk. Taking an analytics-based, proactive approach to delivery decisions helps shippers and their customers avoid loss and easily identify where there could be a potential poor customer service experience.

UPS’s real-time delivery alerts provide your customers with updates on their package location, estimated delivery dates and times, and a notification when the purchase is delivered. Offering these services keeps your customers aware of where their package is and can be a theft deterrent for the 14% of shoppers who don’t take any precautions to prevent porch pirates.¹

High value products encompass a wide range of product types and values, and they’re a popular target for criminals. Using signature verification can help ensure that your customers, not porch pirates, get the items.

Offering various delivery speeds empowers your customers to choose an option that best fits their schedule so they can be home to receive their purchases. UPS provides UPS Next Day Air^®, UPS Next Day Air Early and UPS 2nd Day Air^® services, as well as cost-effective services like UPS 3 Day Select^®, UPS^® Ground Residential and UPS Ground Saver^® services to help you provide the right options for your buyers.

Weekend delivery options allow customers to receive their packages on days when they’re most likely to be home for extended periods.

While on-package images or explanations of what’s inside can make for a more exciting box-opening experience, thieves can also quickly identify what’s in the box. Our team can work with you to design packaging that expresses your brand’s personality without offering a clue about what’s inside. Nondescript packaging is especially important for holiday gift shipments, when 90% of Americans are worried about their packages being stolen.¹

Package theft may be on the rise, but with the right mix of tech and thoughtful planning, you can safeguard your customers’ deliveries—and your brand reputation. These tips give you a strong foundation to build trust, delight customers, and keep your business moving forward.

¹ “2024 Package Theft Annual Report and Statistics,” Security.org, accessed July 8, 2025.

² “5 things you didn’t know The UPS Store could do for your small business,” UPS, May 20, 2025.

Individual results and options will vary. UPS makes no promises of any specific outcome in this document but instead provides only example outcomes based on certain UPS customer experiences.