Safe From Scams: Porch Poaching

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Next time you buy something online, ask yourself this question. Who will make sure the package is secure if it arrives at your house and no one is home?

Security camera footage catches a crime as it happens. At 3:05 a postal carrier delivers a package. About 42 minutes later a van drives right up to the door, a man gets out, takes the package and leaves all in a matter of seconds. The picture went on a reward poster and postal inspectors soon zeroed in on Terry Ware. "We saw this individual taking other parcels around and being a part of a mail theft ring," said Brian Wood, US Postal Inspector

In this case, Ware made off with a $250 jacket.

"They will drive in cars and wait around, they'll follow the postal carriers," explained Wood.

Then, when they know a package is sitting there unattended, they make a move. "They would take the chance of going up there, acting as if they were knocking on the door, soliciting some other thing if the individual came out," said Wood.

If no one answers the door, they grab the package

"They don't know sometimes really what they are getting. It's almost like a surprise. They open these things and say oh I got lucky, I got an iPad. So now I know, do I want to keep this or do I want to sell it," said Wood.

Postal inspectors have some important advice during this holiday season."They need to be looking at the tracking service if they have any at all on the package. In addition to that, they need to have someone home to pick it up," explained Wood.

Terry Ware was ordered to probation in this case.