‘Tis the season for holiday gift deliveries — which means it’s also the worst time of year for having your Amazon package grabbed off your porch by some cretin without a conscience. And according to a report by “independent review site” safewise.com, the Tampa-St. Pete area is among the 10 worst in the nation when it comes to porch piracy.

Safewise crunched the year-round theft/larceny data, then looked at holiday theft trends to determine the American metro areas with the highest rates of holiday-season package theft. Tampa-St. Petersburg came in a number 9, just ahead of Boston.

The areas with the highest incidences of year-end porch piracy? Austin, Salt Lake City and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale claimed the top spots.

According to the report, 1 in 5 homeowners have had a package stolen off their porch, with an average value of $140.

There are, of course, things you can do to cut down on the chances of having your holiday gift-giving Grinched by some asshole who never heard that it’s better to give than to receive. Using package insurance, tracking and delivery confirmation are always good bets, as is opting for a delivery locker or PO Box, or having your stuff delivered to your office or other secure location. Porch cameras are big these days, too; having a visible camera on your property might go a long way toward deterring a porch pirate from making the walk up to your door to steal an attractive package — but then again, given the number of front door camera videos we see showing an idiot walking off with a package around here, you never really know.

This article appears in Nov 15-22, 2018.