Police warn Victorians to lock up parcels this Christmas

AS CHRISTMAS rolls around and shoppers are making the most of the bargains, Victoria Police is reminding people to be aware of parcel theft, especially as online shopping booms.

Police have advised some strategies that members of the public can adopt to prevent theft of their parcels and mail:

Using a good quality padlock, or ensuring there is no access from the front and rear of the letterbox – there are letterboxes that are designed for parcels to be dropped in to that can’t be accessed without a key

Ensure letterboxes are covered by CCTV

Having parcels sent to a parcel locker, PO Box or other collection point rather than to the address

Obtain tracking details to identify day or time when delivery will likely occur

Going paperless – have bank documents and bills sent via email

If the item is some form of bank card, request to collect it from nearest branch, and

If away, have a family member, friend or neighbour attend regularly and collect the parcels and mail

If members of the public do have parcels or mail stolen, they can report to the Police Assistance Line on 131 444 or make a report online at police.vic.gov.au/police-assistance-line-and-online-reporting

In addition to making the report to police and depending on what it is that was stolen, such as bank cards and documents or number plates.

If it is somethings such as a bank card, they will also need to immediately notify their bank so that a block can be put on the card to prevent its use.

In the case of number plates, Vic Roads so they can get issued new number plates but after they have reported it to police (they will need the incident number to provide to VicRoads).

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