Amazon Prime customers warned to be wary of porch pirates and scams

ELKHART, Ind. -- Amazon customers are being advised to watch their porches and emails during Prime Day.

Prime Day, which started on Tuesday morning at 3 a.m., offers large discounts on many items, and with Americans spending more than $7 million on last year’s Prime Day, it is prime time for packages to be stolen and scammers to start reaching out.

Customers are advised to use tracking technology or Amazon lockers located at businesses in the area, as well as keep an eye out for neighbors.

“Look out for people in your community,” said Elkhart Police Department public information officer Jessica McBrier.  “If you see a car just drive up and take something off your neighbor’s porch and drive away, let your neighbor know and let police know if you feel comfortable doing that.”

Elkhart Police have also been monitoring recent reports of scams where packages are delivered to the wrong house and a stranger comes to collect the package, only for the mistaken recipient to be charged.

“By no means if someone shows up to your front door saying ‘that’s my package’, but it’s addressed to you and your address, do not give them the package,” said McBrier.

To avoid online scams, avoid purchasing popular items at questionably low prices.

“There are a lot of legitimate things out there,” said president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Northern Indiana Rick Walz.  “But if you see these pop-up ads that show highly sought-after products at ridiculously low process, that’s a pretty good indicator that it could be a scam.”

The Elkhart Police Department is investigating reports of package scams and any potential victims are asked to check with the sender first before providing a report to police.