Are you better than Indiana Jones?

If you’ve ever had a package stolen (which 11 million Americans have in the last 12 months), then you understand the frustration and disappointment of coming home from a long day at the office and coming up to your porch to see that your package is missing. Of course, you got an email that said you had received the package from your grandmother earlier in the day, but those emails are not always accurate so you do what most of us do: You go online to see what the company delivery status shows. It shows the package was delivered at 2:15pm... damn it, it looks like it was stolen!Here is the good news... if it is a new pair of shoes, it will likely be replaced at no charge. The bad news in this case, it was from your grandmother and was a box of your childhood photos that you were going to scan and make several gifts for your family reunion… irreplaceable and invaluable. Not good!

What can we do to help stop this petty crime that causes so much frustration?

Well, this happened to me almost two years ago so I went on a search to find something to protect my packages at my front door. This is what I found as possible solutions.

• We set traps for them so others know they are taking our stuff.
• We warn them that bad things could happen if they steal from you.
• We ask our neighbors to help protect your stuff.

Criminals for the most part are not the sharpest tools in the shed. But there are a few smart ones out there stealing packages. Not that it takes a super smart person to walk up to a porch, pick up a package and walk away. This is the very reason why the Package Guard was created. To slow down all thieves (smart and not so smart) and make them at least think twice about stealing packages. But there must be ways to outsmart the this IoT device, right!First here is a short 1 minute video showing how it works:

Switcheroo made famous by Indiana Jones didn't work.

Just put a heavy weight on the device while removing the box at the same time. In theory the ‘ol switcheroo’ sounds possible, but not with this device! Sliding a package off and then sliding a weight on is almost impossible. It knows how much weight is on the device, so unless it was *exactly* the same weight as the package, the device alarm would be activated. Indiana Jones couldn’t do it, so it’s highly unlikely a common package thief with no tools and low on creativity can do it either!

Can you just pick up the device at the same time you pick up the packages and walk away with both?

This is also impossible because we have a component inside the device that knows when it has moved up, down or sideways, so whether you pick up the device with packages on top of it or pick up the device by itself the 100 decibel alarm will sound!

Law: Path of least resistance

If the thief has experienced the Package Guard before and notices it under a package they will likely go elsewhere and steal from the nearest house that doesn’t have the device on their porch. That is exactly what we want them to do, sorry neighbors...tell your neighbor to get one also. If the thief sees a few of them in a neighborhood they are not likely to return since there are many streets to choose from with packages that are not protected.

Hey! But couldn’t the thief could just take the package and make a run for it?

This is possible of course, but running with a box of any size (or weight) is not something many of these thieves can do, at least not easily. Furthermore, the surprise of having the alarm go off will be startling at the very least and running away alerts anyone in the neighborhood that there is something bad happening.All of these methods are better than the current options for alerting both the thief and your neighbors that a crime is occurring. Cameras only show that something is happening and the two-way conversation tools allow you to talk to someone, but they don’t do anything to alert others around your home that something bad has or is happening. Loud sounds will not stop all thieves but it will stop some and make others think twice the next time they think about being the Grinch who stole your stuff.