As holiday shoppers are packing their cars with presents and delivery drivers are leaving boxes by front doors, thieves are out in force waiting to rip consumers off and some are becoming more and more high tech.
"Thieves may be able to scan and determine if there’s an item in the car that contains a Bluetooth emitting capability and discover that item is in the car even though the item is out of sight," said Chris Monahan from the Piedmont Police Department.
Thirty-six percent of Americans report having a package stolen at least once, according to a report from C+R research.
The Piedmont Police Department is joining others across the Bay Area, actively working to catch thieves over the holiday season.
Agencies are deploying a variety of tactics to curb car break-ins and thefts at homes. Everything from following delivery drivers to surveillance cameras.
"We have license plate readers at the entrances to the city so that catches cars that come in that are either stolen or the plates have been switched from other cars," said Piedmont resident Karen Mead.
Police recommend drivers leave nothing valuable in their car, especially electronics and to be careful when having packages delivered to their home.
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"Whether you’re using special delivery instructions with the carrier -- like put the item behind the gate or at a neighbor or deliver to another location -- so it’s not a target sitting on the front porch for a thief," said Monahan.
Police said they haven’t received any calls about package thefts so far this season.
