INDIANAPOLIS -- As the holiday shopping season ramps up, there appears to be a well-coordinated effort by thieves to swipe packages just minutes after they're delivered and seeming to know where and when those packages will land on the customer's doorstep.
Thefts like that have been happening across the country and in central Indiana. Almost all of them target AT&T devices that are shipped by FedEx.
In March 2024, a home surveillance camera in Morgan County captured a FedEx driver deliver an iPhone as a car down the street pulled over and waited. Once that driver left, the car pulled up and a woman got out, took the package and then drove off.
At first, it seems as though the car may have just been following the delivery driver, but the camera also captured the same car driving by the home about 10 minutes before the delivery was made.
It appears as if the thief knew a delivery was going to be made there and they might have.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, some thieves have obtained "inside information" that lets them know when and where these electronic devices will be delivered.
The newspaper spoke with a Texas police department who had arrested several suspects in a porch pirate case and found the suspects had AT&T parcel tracking numbers. The company denied that they had any breaches in their systems.
The woman in the video, 28-year-old Darlin Garcia-Medina, was arrested and charged in Marion County.
According to court documents, Garcia-Medina was found with 23 AT&T devices and all but one were shipped by FedEx. The value of all the devices was $20,977.
A similar situation happened in Carmel in September where three men were arrested after police said they stole AT&T packages almost immediately after a FedEx driver dropped them off.
The three men had 20 devices that were worth tens of thousands of dollars. The men admitted to re-selling the devices.
"Buying insurance on those high-value electronic items is really beneficial for consumers because that is often what is targeted," Carmel Deputy Police Chief DJ Schoeff said.
Schoeff said the increase in holiday season shipping also comes with an increase in package thefts.
He said customers can help prevent thefts by having packages delivered to a business where someone will be there to receive them. He also suggested creating a drop box on your porch where a driver can hide the package from view.
"The delivery drivers can slide a box into a particular area that is a little less identified as a package but the delivery driver knows it's there," Schoeff said.
Schoeff also suggested that consumers have doorbell cameras installed to help police investigate if their package is stolen.
As for the AT&T package thefts, the questions still remains about how thieves know when the package will be there.
In a statement, the company said the crimes are committed by "sophisticated criminals" and are under investigation by federal and state authorities.
"Parcel theft is a concern across many businesses, and it is something we take seriously. We work with law enforcement agencies and parcel carriers to protect our deliveries from these sophisticated criminals," a spokesperson wrote. "We understand how frustrating and stressful these events can be for our customers. When these unfortunate events occur, we work as quickly as possible with the customer to make it right."
AT&T pointed out is store pickup option and said it requires signatures in areas that have experienced issues with theft.