Amazon Prime Day can become a 'porch pirates' paradise'

Amazon Prime Day is a giant e-commerce day, where millions gobble up billions of dollars worth of goods, oftentimes for door-to-door delivery. But, the goods really are not delivered until they're in your hands. 

Experts project that Amazon Prime Day sales will sell $14 billion dollars in goods, enough money to buy the entire Stanley Black and Decker tool company. The days following Prime Day and Black Friday are a porch pirates’ paradise. "It is really a huge problem. It's a crime of opportunity," said Corie Wagner of research firm Security.org.

Wagner estimates that as many as 2.4 million Amazon Prime Day packages will go missing in the days following Prime Day. "It's gonna be recouped in the costs of the products themselves. Companies are gonna have to raise prices," said Wagner. "The number of deliveries in cities related to e-commerce, is larger than the number of deliveries made to commercial establishments, which is astonishing," said Professor Jose Holquin-Veras of Rennselear Polytechnic Institute, an expert in logistics and security.

FILE-Amazon driver Shawndu Stackhouse delivers packages. (Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

In Alameda, we met a man who said, "We have a stairway going up to our front door so we don't have a problem, but our neighbors have had a little bit of a problem," he said. Capital One Shopping, says 35% of Americans had a package go missing in the past year. That's 119 million packages, an average value of $112 each, are worth $13.4 billion. 

A now more cautious Don Davis gets his Amazon orders shipped elsewhere. "I actually send stuff to my work, which my work is fine with me sending personal items to," said Davis.

Forty percent of victims have lost more than one package in the past year. "I've ordered just a couple things just from Amazon or eBay and I've filed claims for items that have been stolen," said customer Bennnan Abielle.

Suburban dwellers are 150% more likely to be victimized than urban residents and seven times more likely than rural dwellers. If you aren't home, pick your package up at one of many local Amazon lockers or, have it delivered to a family member or friend who will be home.

Obvious security cameras, video doorbells or alarm signs can be a deterrent. Nonetheless, research shows that consumers are far more concerned with holiday package deliveries. "There's more of an emotionality tied to it if it's for a holiday or for a loved one," said Wagner.

The thieves range from opportunistic to impulsive lone wolves, to serial thieves to organized groups.