Porch pirate season officially begins in charelston county

CHARLESTON COUNTY, SC – With orders now coming in from recent online shopping events, the Sheriff’s Office has already seen thefts of packages from Lowcountry porches. On Nov. 20, a Ring doorbell camera captured a middle-age man in sunglasses and a blue face mask steal an Amazon package off the front porch of a home on Taliaferro Avenue on James Island before getting away in a green station wagon (possibly a Subaru Outback). The white male is described as skinny with short hair and possible tattoos on his upper right arm. He was wearing blue jeans, a blue T-shirt and blue shoes at the time of the theft. Anyone with information on the suspect or vehicle pictured, please contact Detective James Jacko at 843-529-5357 or jjacko@charlestoncounty.org. After hours, call dispatch at 843-743-7200.

And we urge everyone to take steps to possibly keep porch pirates at bay:

1. Get permission to ship packages to your workplace.

2. Get a friend or neighbor to receive your deliveries. People such as retirees and remote workers might be home during the day.

3. There’s an app for that. Services like Doorman let you arrange for packages to be sent to a warehouse, where they are held until you get home.

4. Don’t post social media photos with geolocation enabled on your smartphone. Don’t let thieves know exactly when you’re not around.

5. Set up a live video camera outside and alert law enforcement if someone jumps aboard and starts plundering goodies from your porch.

6. Send and receive monetary gifts in the form of gift cards or checks rather than cash. Don’t make it easy for the Grinch to get your green.

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