{"id":124707,"date":"2025-12-12T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/?p=124707"},"modified":"2025-12-11T16:50:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T05:50:22","slug":"police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Police warn Victorians to lock up parcels this Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

Police have advised some strategies that members of the public can adopt to prevent theft of their parcels and mail:<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

Ensure letterboxes are covered\u00a0by CCTV<\/p>\n

Having parcels sent to a parcel locker, PO Box or other collection point rather than to the address<\/p>\n

Obtain tracking details to identify day or time when delivery will likely occur<\/p>\n

Going paperless \u2013 have bank documents and bills sent via email<\/p>\n

\"\"
Online shoppers should obtain tracking details to identify the day or time when delivery will likely occur. Photo: SUPPLIED<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

If the item is some form of bank card, request to collect it from nearest branch, and<\/p>\n

If away, have a family member, friend or neighbour attend regularly and collect the parcels and mail<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0to VicRoads).<\/p>\n

\/\/SPONSORED CONTENT<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":156,"featured_media":124708,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-124707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPolice warn Victorians to lock up parcels this Christmas - Geelong Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Victoria Police warn shoppers: protect your Christmas parcels from porch pirates! Get key tips to prevent parcel and mail theft this holiday season.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Police warn Victorians to lock up parcels this Christmas - Geelong Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Victoria Police warn shoppers: protect your Christmas parcels from porch pirates! Get key tips to prevent parcel and mail theft this holiday season.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Geelong Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-11T17:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/12\/10dec-tng-5.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Times News Group\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Times News Group\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Times News Group\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c458b1ff60365992982bb7683264fe4b\"},\"headline\":\"Police warn Victorians to lock up parcels this Christmas\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-11T17:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":332,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/10dec-tng-5.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\\\/\",\"name\":\"Police warn Victorians to lock up parcels this Christmas - Geelong Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/10dec-tng-5.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-11T17:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Victoria Police warn shoppers: protect your Christmas parcels from porch pirates! Get key tips to prevent parcel and mail theft this holiday season.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/10dec-tng-5.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2025\\\/12\\\/10dec-tng-5.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Shoppers can elect to have their parcels delivered to a parcel locker to help prevent theft. Photo: AUSTRALIA POST\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/news\\\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Police warn Victorians to lock up parcels this Christmas\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Geelong Times\",\"description\":\"Free local news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Geelong Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/times_logo_1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/21\\\/2020\\\/09\\\/times_logo_1.png\",\"width\":248,\"height\":37,\"caption\":\"Geelong Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c458b1ff60365992982bb7683264fe4b\",\"name\":\"Times News Group\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/cc82b54c1af02d71dab25589cd4c3d8b8bd2eb3e8e1ec22262f96ed18e6937dc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/cc82b54c1af02d71dab25589cd4c3d8b8bd2eb3e8e1ec22262f96ed18e6937dc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/cc82b54c1af02d71dab25589cd4c3d8b8bd2eb3e8e1ec22262f96ed18e6937dc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Times News Group\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/geelongtimes\\\/author\\\/timesnewsgroup\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Police warn Victorians to lock up parcels this Christmas - Geelong Times","description":"Victoria Police warn shoppers: protect your Christmas parcels from porch pirates! Get key tips to prevent parcel and mail theft this holiday season.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Police warn Victorians to lock up parcels this Christmas - Geelong Times","og_description":"Victoria Police warn shoppers: protect your Christmas parcels from porch pirates! Get key tips to prevent parcel and mail theft this holiday season.","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\/","og_site_name":"Geelong Times","article_published_time":"2025-12-11T17:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/12\/10dec-tng-5.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Times News Group","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Times News Group","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\/"},"author":{"name":"Times News Group","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/person\/c458b1ff60365992982bb7683264fe4b"},"headline":"Police warn Victorians to lock up parcels this Christmas","datePublished":"2025-12-11T17:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\/"},"wordCount":332,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/12\/10dec-tng-5.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\/","name":"Police warn Victorians to lock up parcels this Christmas - Geelong Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/12\/10dec-tng-5.jpg","datePublished":"2025-12-11T17:00:00+00:00","description":"Victoria Police warn shoppers: protect your Christmas parcels from porch pirates! Get key tips to prevent parcel and mail theft this holiday season.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/12\/10dec-tng-5.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2025\/12\/10dec-tng-5.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Shoppers can elect to have their parcels delivered to a parcel locker to help prevent theft. Photo: AUSTRALIA POST"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/news\/police-warn-victorians-to-lock-up-parcels-this-christmas\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Police warn Victorians to lock up parcels this Christmas"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/","name":"Geelong Times","description":"Free local news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#organization","name":"Geelong Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/09\/times_logo_1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/21\/2020\/09\/times_logo_1.png","width":248,"height":37,"caption":"Geelong Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/#\/schema\/person\/c458b1ff60365992982bb7683264fe4b","name":"Times News Group","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cc82b54c1af02d71dab25589cd4c3d8b8bd2eb3e8e1ec22262f96ed18e6937dc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cc82b54c1af02d71dab25589cd4c3d8b8bd2eb3e8e1ec22262f96ed18e6937dc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cc82b54c1af02d71dab25589cd4c3d8b8bd2eb3e8e1ec22262f96ed18e6937dc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Times News Group"},"url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/author\/timesnewsgroup\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/156"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124707\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124707"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/geelongtimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=124707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}