WILKES-BARRE -- Experts have some advice after a number of packages have been swiped from homes in Luzerne County.
A man in Wilkes-Barre who recently ordered a smartphone by mail instead received a headache. Surveillance video shows what happened after the package arrived last month. A thief stole it off his porch before he returned home from work.
"I got home. I checked my cameras and three hours pass after the delivery, and I see this family with three kids and the lady just taking my package," he said, not wanting to be named.
The security video looks like a mother is holding her child's hand before suddenly snatching the package.
"I really don't care about the package. I care more about the kids. What type of parents are these to kids showing how to steal?" he said.
Nanticoke police say a similar situation happened on Church Street just a couple days ago. Home security video from that incident shows a man looking around before he takes a package off the porch.
Police are not yet saying what the stolen package was -- only that it was delivered by the post office.
So what should people do? A U.S. Postal Service spokesperson suggests that, "If you have a stay-at-home neighbor, enlist their help. Ask to schedule your package deliveries to their address, increasing the likelihood someone will be home to receive your package."
The smartphone stolen in Wilkes-Barre was delivered by UPS. An official there says, "Packages can be redirected to UPS access point locations, which are local businesses such as dry cleaners and the UPS store locations."