Thieves order items from NY homeowner's account, swipe packages from porch | VIDEO
Porch pirates becoming more sophisticated: experts
An alleged porch pirate strikes mid-delivery by running up behind the delivery driver and snagging the package right in front of him. The catch? The homeowners say they didn’t order anything. FOX 5 NY’s Jodi Goldberg explains how this new organized crime is happening.
LONG ISLAND - A doorbell camera recorded video of an alleged porch pirate stealing a package in front of a Long Island homeowner.
The video shows Erica Bernhard's dad running after the thief and her mom can be heard shouting as she followed behind them.
Erica Bernhard says the man was ultimately tackled, and she got the package, but he got away. They were all ready for him to strike again because he sent three other packages to their house with her name. The man took off with a Dyson vacuum worth several hundred dollars.
"It was just supposed to be leave the ring camera on, maybe see his face and give the information to the police," Bernhard said.
The Nassau County Police Department says it’s an ongoing investigation.
Bernhard says she never placed the orders. She says he was using her Bloomingdale’s account that had her card on file.
"He hacked into the account," she said. "He was able to see tracking info."
Despite most people having some sort of surveillance system, thieves don't seem deterred as they still snatch and run in plain sight.
Porch pirates are getting more bold and brazen. Security expert Adam Schwam says hackers are becoming more sophisticated.
He also says it’s important to have different passwords.
"What happens is a website could be hacked, and then they get the same username and password from the site, and they tried to use it on other shopping sites," he said.
Bernhard says she got the money back. She’s thankful no one was hurt and has this message for the thief who she hopes is held accountable.
"Get a job and stop doing this to people," Bernhard said.