N.S. man frustrated after delivery driver allegedly caught trying to steal package

Michael Campbell makes frequent purchases online and has them delivered directly to his home. However, he says his trust in online shopping has been shaken after a delivery driver allegedly attempted to steal the package they were supposed to deliver.

"This guy shows up at my door and gives me the smallest tiniest one and keeps the largest package with the battery sign indicating it's an electronic," said Campbell.

He said he knew he was supposed to get another package, but despite asking the driver numerous times if he had his other orders, Campbell was told there was nothing else to drop off.

"I was watching this tracking all day. I knew that there is a second part of this package."

Campbell said he and the delivery driver went back and forth about this.

"He magically turns his answer from a 'no' to a 'yes' as he was being questioned by me."

Campbell said he called the police to report the incident, however, it didn't provide much relief. He said RCMP officers told him it was the third call they received about the issue that day and they couldn’t do much about it. "They said it is difficult to prove when this happens."

Ben Stickle, professor of Criminal Justice Administration at Middle Tennessee State University, said while there is no concrete data readily available, this may be happening more often, especially during peak season.

"They will hire part-time people [or] third-party providers. I would say it's really hard to vet and control those individuals."

Stickle said it's even harder for law enforcement.

"Is this someone who's third party delivery using their personal car or just happen to show up and drop off a few packages? And then if so, how does the company verify that? How does law enforcement find out whether they are a delivery driver and what do they do it about it," he said. "This creates a very complicated mix to try and untangle."

According to Stickle, companies generally do a good job vetting their delivery drivers, however, these incidents when they do come up are difficult to resolve. "It's really challenging, especially apartment complexes. We didn't design them for this concept."

Amazon's spokesperson Austin Stowe, said the majority of Amazon's packages are delivered to customers without issues, however, they are aware of theft like this happening.

"There are cases of porch piracy and package theft, we also see imposter drivers that like to dress up in local delivery driver apparel and go to customers houses and steal packages," said Stowe.

Across Canada, there are a number of Facebook groups sharing their experience with theft of their packages. Campbell said all if makes him feel uneasy.

"It's the principle of what's going on. To see if in front of you is another thing, it's a little bit more offensive," he said.

Stowe said Amazon determined that the person involved in Campbell’s delivery was not an Amazon delivery associate. The company suspects the attempted theft could have been carried out by an imposter driver, a porch pirate, or someone from another delivery service operating outside Amazon’s jurisdiction.

Amazon encourages people to report all thefts to the police and contact customer service if they have delivery issues.

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