One resident said he’s lost Amazon packages, a credit card and even presents for Christmas already.
GASTONIA, N.C. — Neighbors in Gastonia are sounding the alarm after they’ve had dozens of packages stolen from their community package lockers.
Kevin Murillo and his neighbors said, over the past few weeks, they’ve had dozens of packages go missing from their community mailboxes.Â
“It was marked as delivered most of the time,” Murillo said. “Then, we’d go check, and they would be gone. This has happened to a ton of people, and we don’t know what else to do.”
Murillo said he’s lost Amazon packages, a credit card and even presents for Christmas already. In response, he and others have filed police reports and contacted the post office trying to get answers.Â
It’s a step the Gastonia Police Department said is what everyone needs to do if they are impacted by package thefts. Gastonia authorities also suggested people have a separate place for package shipments like an Amazon Locker or a P.O Box or to a local UPS or FedEx store.
Amazon also offers key-in-garage delivery. With this option, the delivery driver can place your package inside a garage or other gated area for added security.
About $12 billion worth of packages were stolen in the past year across the county, impacting 58 million Americans, according to Security.org.Â
As we head closer to the holiday shopping season, especially Cyber Monday, local police departments are warning people they need to be prepared to avoid falling victim to thieves.Â
Contact Austin Walker at awalker@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
