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Why do parcels no longer reach the owners?
In the United States, a criminal scheme related to the theft of expensive parcels is gaining momentum. The so-called "porch pirates" use stolen data to intercept other people's online purchases (and not only), pretending to be the rightful owners. Of particular interest to cybercriminals are shipments from AT&T containing Apple products.
The scale of the problem is staggering: in 2024, 58 million Americans fell victim to this scheme. The total value of the stolen property has reached $12 billion, and the lion's share is made up of devices from Apple.
The mechanism of theft is extremely simple and effective: criminals track the delivery of packages through the FedEx service in real time. As soon as the courier leaves the box at the recipient's door, the thieves quickly intercept it, ahead of the addressee.
The geography of crimes already covers eight states. Cases of theft were recorded in New York, Massachusetts, Florida, Texas, Virginia, Georgia and Pennsylvania. Among the detainees are mainly teenagers and young people, but many criminals have not yet been identified.
Of particular concern is the source of the parcel tracking data leak. Despite the obvious compromise of information, not a single transport company officially announced the hacking of its security systems.
The situation is aggravated by the policy of some delivery services. For example, FedEx does not require mandatory confirmation of receipt of the package with a signature, which greatly facilitates the task for criminals - they just need to wait for the courier and do everything quickly.
Social media users are actively discussing what is happening, pointing to possible problems with AT&T's internal security.
Law enforcement officers abroad name several ways to protect themselves from "porch pirates", and all of them are quite obvious. The main one is "request confirmation of delivery with a signature". Well-known services like Ozon or Yandex Market do not offer this option separately. If you ask, the order will be left at the door at your personal responsibility. But other delivery services (not marketplaces, but DHL, CDEK and others) must require you to fill out documents. But the most reliable way is not to be lazy and, if possible, pick up the parcel yourself at the pick-up point.
Source
In the United States, a criminal scheme related to the theft of expensive parcels is gaining momentum. The so-called "porch pirates" use stolen data to intercept other people's online purchases (and not only), pretending to be the rightful owners. Of particular interest to cybercriminals are shipments from AT&T containing Apple products.
The scale of the problem is staggering: in 2024, 58 million Americans fell victim to this scheme. The total value of the stolen property has reached $12 billion, and the lion's share is made up of devices from Apple.
The mechanism of theft is extremely simple and effective: criminals track the delivery of packages through the FedEx service in real time. As soon as the courier leaves the box at the recipient's door, the thieves quickly intercept it, ahead of the addressee.
The geography of crimes already covers eight states. Cases of theft were recorded in New York, Massachusetts, Florida, Texas, Virginia, Georgia and Pennsylvania. Among the detainees are mainly teenagers and young people, but many criminals have not yet been identified.
Of particular concern is the source of the parcel tracking data leak. Despite the obvious compromise of information, not a single transport company officially announced the hacking of its security systems.
The situation is aggravated by the policy of some delivery services. For example, FedEx does not require mandatory confirmation of receipt of the package with a signature, which greatly facilitates the task for criminals - they just need to wait for the courier and do everything quickly.
Social media users are actively discussing what is happening, pointing to possible problems with AT&T's internal security.
Law enforcement officers abroad name several ways to protect themselves from "porch pirates", and all of them are quite obvious. The main one is "request confirmation of delivery with a signature". Well-known services like Ozon or Yandex Market do not offer this option separately. If you ask, the order will be left at the door at your personal responsibility. But other delivery services (not marketplaces, but DHL, CDEK and others) must require you to fill out documents. But the most reliable way is not to be lazy and, if possible, pick up the parcel yourself at the pick-up point.
Source
