More than £600million of parcels ordered by Brits were stolen in the last year, according to devastating new research released today.
Experts are warning shoppers to be on their guard ahead of Black Friday this year after it emerged that almost five million households have fallen victim to so-called ‘porch pirates’ in the space of 12 months.
Analysts say this equates to roughly a 31 per cent rise in parcel theft year-on-year – but that the true scale of the issue is unknown because so few people actually report their missing post to police.
However, thefts are costing shoppers dear. The average value of a parcel swiped by an opportunistic criminal has risen from £102 to £138 in the last year.
Police data provided to the Daily Mail shows that, unsurprisingly, December is the busiest time of year for parcel thieves, closely followed by November.
In fact, to the chagrin of Black Friday and Christmas shoppers, around 28 per cent of all thefts between July 2024 and June this year were reported in the festive shopping period – up from a fifth last year.
And it’s particularly bad news if you’re aged somewhere between 20 and 40, living in a house in Leicestershire with a delivery due during the day.
Most victims are aged between 22 and 44, and the vast majority of thefts, 62 per cent, took place outside houses – where parcels are often left on doorsteps by time-pressed and flustered couriers.
Have YOU fallen victim to a porch pirate? Email: jon.brady@dailymail.co.uk
But secure entry is no guarantee of safety – as 18 per cent of thefts where a location was recorded by police happened in apartment blocks, and four per cent in offices.
Unsurprisingly, daytime deliveries were most likely to go missing: some 61 per cent of all reported thefts occurred between 9am and 5pm.
And it’s bad news if you live in the Midlands: the most thefts, per head of population, were reported in Leicestershire, followed by Hertfordshire. Cheshire reported the fewest thefts per head.
Porch piracy became a significant issue during the Covid-19 pandemic, when lockdown restrictions forced people to turn to online shopping to meet their needs.
Because of the coronavirus, delivery drivers who would once wait on the doorstep with parcels were instead using the ‘knock and run’ approach, leaving boxes outside without verifying delivery.
But delivery drivers are also under ever-increasing pressure thanks to Britain’s love of online shopping – with some 4.2billion parcels sent and received in the UK last year, higher than the pandemic peak of 4bn in 2020/21.
Post-Covid, they rarely have the time to spare waiting for people to answer the door.
Last year, the Daily Mail went undercover and discovered the back-breaking labour associated with parcel delivery. Our reporter found workers earning as little as 45p a package while handling up to 350 of them a shift for Evri.
There is also the issue of inappropriate deliveries: parcels left in plain sight on garden walls, in the middle of lawns and even in recycling bins.
As a result, scenes of people in hoodies sneaking up to doorsteps and swiping boxes – usually captured on a doorbell camera – are becoming ever more common.
Lisa Parker, from Canterbury, could only watch in horror as packages delivered by Amazon and DPD were swiped by a man in a hoodie – all filmed live on her doorbell.
She said of the incident in July: ‘This guy came out of nowhere. We were literally watching him creep on the drive, pick it all up and walk off with it in broad daylight on a busy street. It was awful.
Lisa added: ‘Stealing packages is like a new career now. It is horrible. I am going to be fretting now and watching out of the window. We are very worried it could happen again.’
Police called off the investigation after being unable to identify the thief.
The figures provided to the Mail were obtained from 27 UK police forces by Quadient.
The technology company provides, among other things, parcel lockers to delivery firms Royal Mail, Evri and DPD.
Their suggested solution to the issue of porch piracy may not come as a surprise.
Katia Bourgeais-Crémel, director of its Lockers Automation division in Europe, said: ‘Parcel theft has risen dramatically in the past year, and with the busiest delivery season approaching, the message from consumers is clear: they don’t want packages left on their doorsteps anymore.
‘With many of these thefts taking place in broad daylight, the findings make a clear case for making secure parcel lockers the norm, not the exception.’
Ms Bourgeais-Crémel says firms should make parcel lockers the first port of call instead of an alternative option to doorstep delivery.
A survey it commissioned to accompany the data found that almost two-thirds of British members of the public would feel more comfortable using lockers or collection points over doorstep delivery – and more than two-thirds would rather a parcel wasn’t delivered at all if they weren’t going to be in to receive it.
And Brits do want to see parcel firms doing better: almost four in five have begged for ‘any improvement’ to how they work, according to an Ofcom report published last month.
The regulator found that two thirds of people had experienced a delivery issue of any kind in 2025 – with the biggest issues being parcels left in inappropriate locations and couriers not knocking loudly enough or ringing the doorbell.
Around 11 per cent of those polled by Ofcom said they specifically wanted to see firms prioritise stopping parcels from going missing, and 10 per cent wanted to see parcels delivered direct to their door.
