Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Close to Home — What it’s like on the street where you live
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Porch pirates get creative
It's not just grab 'n go any more
Alleged fake Amazon delivery driver.
Porch piracy is evolving — and members of this new wave of thieves aren't just grabbing boxes and running. Scammers are now dropping off fake parcels, disguising themselves as delivery drivers, and even swapping out packages right under security cameras. In recent months, more sophisticated crooks — some of whom drive nicer cars than their victims — have been caught on video dressed like Amazon or DoorDash workers, pretending to scan packages before walking off with the goods.
Earlier this May, local news outlets warned San Diegans about a dangerous twist on the old “brushing scam” — this time, featuring QR codes. Unsolicited packages with no return address have been arriving at doorsteps, often filled with junk or completely empty. Stuck to the outside or tucked inside the box is a QR code, which unsuspecting residents may scan with their phones out of curiosity.
But that simple scan can be costly. Some codes redirect users to fake banking or shipping websites designed to steal personal information. Others may install malware on your device. Bottom line: If you didn’t order it, don’t scan it
Last month, Judith H. from Spring Valley spotted a suspect on her security footage. “An independent Amazon delivery guy who delivered my package,” she posted on Nextdoor. “He didn’t follow the delivery instructions. Instead, he set it on the ground against my garage door. Took his time taking a picture of where he set it down. And then walked forward, grabbed my package, and headed back to his car. I called Amazon and got an immediate refund.”
Back in January, multiple incidents surfaced involving people dressed in what appeared to be work uniforms stealing mail and packages. In Coronado, residents turned to Facebook and the Ring app after spotting a man “dressed like an Amazon employee” who avoided cameras by keeping his head down and pretending to scan boxes as he walked away with them. One post describing the suspect — a "5'8" and 165–175 lbs., semi-muscular build, light-skinned" man — bounced around the internet but produced no results.
Coronado package thief
That same month in North Park, Tyler B. told SDPD he “caught two men stealing mail out of my mailbox.” He added that one appeared to be disguised as an Amazon worker, and that the pair drove off in a red Toyota Prius. In that case, however, “the cops got them, and the person was a legit flex [Amazon] worker—had a bunch of Amazon packages in his car.”
Other San Diegans shared similar stories in 2024. Joanie, who lives in Ocean Beach, recalled a string of incidents involving people dressed in delivery gear. “I know for a fact that there have been several instances where thieves were caught wearing delivery-type clothing and badges,” she said. “There was one posing as a DoorDash driver carrying a large bag, stealing packages instead of delivering anything.”
Some residents, tired of being targeted, are flipping the script—leaving out decoy boxes filled with dog poop or unwanted junk to surprise would-be thieves. Hello, Glitter Bomb!
Here's something you might be interested in.
Porch pirates get creative
It's not just grab 'n go any more
Porch pirates get creative
It's not just grab 'n go any more
Alleged fake Amazon delivery driver.
Porch piracy is evolving — and members of this new wave of thieves aren't just grabbing boxes and running. Scammers are now dropping off fake parcels, disguising themselves as delivery drivers, and even swapping out packages right under security cameras. In recent months, more sophisticated crooks — some of whom drive nicer cars than their victims — have been caught on video dressed like Amazon or DoorDash workers, pretending to scan packages before walking off with the goods.
Earlier this May, local news outlets warned San Diegans about a dangerous twist on the old “brushing scam” — this time, featuring QR codes. Unsolicited packages with no return address have been arriving at doorsteps, often filled with junk or completely empty. Stuck to the outside or tucked inside the box is a QR code, which unsuspecting residents may scan with their phones out of curiosity.
But that simple scan can be costly. Some codes redirect users to fake banking or shipping websites designed to steal personal information. Others may install malware on your device. Bottom line: If you didn’t order it, don’t scan it
Last month, Judith H. from Spring Valley spotted a suspect on her security footage. “An independent Amazon delivery guy who delivered my package,” she posted on Nextdoor. “He didn’t follow the delivery instructions. Instead, he set it on the ground against my garage door. Took his time taking a picture of where he set it down. And then walked forward, grabbed my package, and headed back to his car. I called Amazon and got an immediate refund.”
Back in January, multiple incidents surfaced involving people dressed in what appeared to be work uniforms stealing mail and packages. In Coronado, residents turned to Facebook and the Ring app after spotting a man “dressed like an Amazon employee” who avoided cameras by keeping his head down and pretending to scan boxes as he walked away with them. One post describing the suspect — a "5'8" and 165–175 lbs., semi-muscular build, light-skinned" man — bounced around the internet but produced no results.
Coronado package thief
That same month in North Park, Tyler B. told SDPD he “caught two men stealing mail out of my mailbox.” He added that one appeared to be disguised as an Amazon worker, and that the pair drove off in a red Toyota Prius. In that case, however, “the cops got them, and the person was a legit flex [Amazon] worker—had a bunch of Amazon packages in his car.”
Other San Diegans shared similar stories in 2024. Joanie, who lives in Ocean Beach, recalled a string of incidents involving people dressed in delivery gear. “I know for a fact that there have been several instances where thieves were caught wearing delivery-type clothing and badges,” she said. “There was one posing as a DoorDash driver carrying a large bag, stealing packages instead of delivering anything.”
Some residents, tired of being targeted, are flipping the script—leaving out decoy boxes filled with dog poop or unwanted junk to surprise would-be thieves. Hello, Glitter Bomb!