As the holiday season approaches, homes in the St. Louis metro area face an increased risk of package theft and property crime. With online shopping reaching its annual peak, porch pirates are actively targeting neighborhoods from Fenton to downtown. At ABF Security, we’ve been protecting families throughout Missouri and Illinois since 1978. This comprehensive guide will help you protect your property and enjoy peace of mind throughout the season.
Understanding the Porch Pirate Problem
The statistics paint a sobering picture. More than 58 million packages were stolen in 2024, with 41% of Americans experiencing porch piracy at least once. During the holiday season, package theft incidents surge dramatically, with daily theft rates jumping to approximately 300,000 in December.
For local area residents, the concern is very real. Communities throughout the region regularly report package theft incidents, with local neighborhoods experiencing significant activity. The reality is that porch pirates operate everywhere, and the holiday season offers them the greatest opportunity. Many thieves have become sophisticated, monitoring social media for vacation announcements and following delivery trucks through neighborhoods.
Smart Video Doorbells with Package Detection
The most effective defense against package theft combines visibility, verification, and immediate response. Our Video Doorbell represents the gold standard for porch protection, with a 150-degree vertical field of view and full HD resolution.
The package detection system uses artificial intelligence to distinguish between people, animals, vehicles, and packages. When a delivery occurs, you receive an instant alert with a live video feed, allowing you to verify the driver and speak with them through two-way audio. When a package is delivered, you get a specific notification with a thumbnail image. Most importantly, if someone removes a package from your doorstep, you receive an immediate alert, enabling proactive protection against theft.
Integrating Smart Locks for Secure Delivery
For high-value deliveries or when you won’t be home, integrating a smart lock with your video doorbell creates even more security. When your doorbell alerts you to a delivery, you can verify the driver’s identity by video and unlock your door directly from your alarm app. You can instruct the driver to leave the package inside your entryway, watch them complete the delivery, then lock up remotely, all without being physically present. This approach entirely eliminates porch exposure.
Lighting: The Simplest and Most Effective Deterrent
Criminals thrive in darkness and anonymity. Strategic lighting eliminates those advantages, making your property significantly less attractive to thieves.
Motion-Activated Security Lighting
Motion sensor lights provide convenient illumination while simultaneously startling anyone attempting unauthorized access. Optimal placement is six to ten feet above ground level, over all exterior doors and dark corners. Modern LED motion sensors detect movement from 20 to 70 feet away and should be weather-resistant.
The sudden burst of light can instantly deter intruders and draw attention to their presence. Many modern systems integrate with our alarm systems, allowing you to receive notifications when lights activate or adjust settings remotely.
Holiday Lighting Automation
Automated lighting creates the impression of occupancy when you’re away. Rather than simple timers that burglars easily recognize, smart lighting automation varies schedules to mimic natural human behavior. Our alarm systems can activate different lights at different times, with random variations to appear lived-in.
Geofencing technology adds another layer of sophistication. Automatically adjust lighting, thermostats, and security settings based on your smartphone’s location. When you leave for the airport, your system switches to “Away” mode. When you return, everything switches back to “Home” mode.
Perimeter Protection: Securing Every Entry Point
Technology like doorbell cameras protects your front entrance, but comprehensive security requires protecting all access points.
Door and Window Sensors
Contact sensors on doors and windows form the backbone of perimeter security, detecting when openings occur and triggering alerts to your smartphone. These alert you before intrusion rather than after, providing critical early warning.
Our alarm systems offer sophisticated arming modes that maximize protection while maintaining usability. “Perimeter” mode arms exterior doors and windows while leaving interior sensors unarmed. “Sleep” mode adds interior protection for bedtime. “Away” mode arms everything during travel or absence.
Professional Monitoring: Your 24/7 Security Partner
Technology alone cannot protect your home; human response determines the outcome. ABF Security operates its own UL-certified monitoring center in St. Louis, staffed 24 hours per day. When your system triggers an alarm, our ESA-certified team receives the signal within seconds and immediately attempts to contact you. If the alarm cannot be verified as false, emergency services are dispatched immediately.
This rapid response is invaluable during holidays when you may be unavailable. Professional monitoring ensures appropriate action occurs regardless of your circumstances.
Community and Common-Sense Strategies
Technology provides powerful tools, but holiday security also requires human intelligence and community cooperation.
Social Media Discipline
One of the gravest security mistakes happens online. Announcing vacation plans on social media, posting about upcoming trips, sharing real-time vacation photos, or checking in at your destination, provides criminals with a perfect roadmap of when your home sits empty.
Convicted burglars surveyed about their methods revealed they regularly monitor social media for vacation announcements. The solution is simple: delay posting vacation photos until after you return home. Review privacy settings and ensure posts are visible only to actual friends. Turn off geotagging features that embed location data in posted photos.
Trusted Neighbor Networks
Before leaving for travel, notify trusted neighbors of your departure and return dates. Ask them to retrieve packages, bring in mail, and occasionally park in your driveway to create the appearance of occupancy. If someone checks your home periodically, you’ll know quickly if anything is amiss.
Package Delivery Alternatives
Many retailers now offer in-store or locker pickup options, eliminating porch vulnerability entirely. Delivery scheduling features allow you to specify particular days or times when you’ll be available. For frequently arriving valuable packages, consider installing a secure parcel delivery box with two-stage security systems.
Fire Safety: The Holiday Security Essential
Holiday fires pose equal danger to property and family. The combination of holiday decorations, increased electrical loads, and kitchen activity creates heightened fire hazards.
Monitored Fire Alarm Systems
ABF Security’s professionally-monitored fire alarm systems provide critical protection. When monitored smoke or heat detectors trigger, the signal reaches our UL-certified monitoring center within seconds, even if no one is home.
Modern fire alarm systems provide advanced detection tailored to holiday risks. Heat detectors in kitchens prevent false alarms from cooking while detecting actual fires. Photoelectric smoke detectors identify smoldering fires caused by electrical shorts. Carbon monoxide detectors protect against furnace malfunctions.
Remote control your holiday decorations with smart plugs connected to your alarm system, automatically turning them off at midnight or when your security system arms to prevent fire risks.
Taking Action: Your Next Steps
Reading about security strategies provides knowledge, but implementing them creates actual protection. Contact ABF Security today to schedule a free security consultation. Our experienced technicians will evaluate your property’s vulnerabilities, discuss your security goals, and design a customized system addressing your needs and budget.
For existing customers, reach out to discuss holiday-specific upgrades. Adding a video doorbell with package detection, integrating smart locks, or upgrading to Video Analytics can dramatically improve porch pirate protection.
Don’t wait until you’re frantically packing for holiday travel. Scheduling your consultation or upgrades now ensures everything is properly installed and configured before you need it. After more than four decades protecting St. Louis metro area families, ABF Security understands that true peace of mind comes from knowing your home, property, and loved ones are secure.
This holiday season, give yourself and your family the gift that matters most: complete security and genuine peace of mind. Contact ABF Security today at abfsecurity.com to make this your most secure and enjoyable holiday season yet.
FAQ
1. Is package theft really a felony in Missouri, and what should I do if my holiday packages are stolen?
Yes, Missouri law classifies package theft (porch piracy) as a felony offense. If you experience package theft during the holiday season, immediately file a police report with your local department and provide any doorbell camera or security footage you have. Contact the retailer or shipping company, as many offer replacement policies when theft is documented with video evidence.
To prevent theft in the first place, ABF Security’s Video Doorbell with AI-powered package detection sends instant alerts when deliveries arrive and when packages are removed from your porch. For high-value deliveries, integrating a smart lock allows verified delivery drivers to place packages safely inside your entryway, completely eliminating porch exposure. Our 24/7 UL-certified monitoring center ensures someone is always watching over your property, even when you’re busy with holiday preparations.
2. We're traveling to visit family for Thanksgiving and Christmas. How can we make sure our home looks occupied while we're away?
The key to preventing holiday break-ins is creating the authentic appearance of occupancy. ABF Security’s smart lighting automation goes far beyond simple timers that burglars easily recognize. Our systems vary lighting schedules with random variations to mimic natural human behavior, activating different lights throughout your home at different times. Geofencing technology automatically adjusts lighting, thermostats, and security settings based on your smartphone’s location—when you leave for the airport, everything switches to “Away” mode, and when you return, it switches back.
Before traveling, ask trusted neighbors to retrieve any packages and occasionally park in your driveway. Most importantly, never announce your vacation plans on social media until after you return home, as convicted burglars have admitted to monitoring social platforms for exactly this information. Our professionally-monitored alarm systems with door and window sensors provide critical early warning before intrusion occurs, with our St. Louis-based monitoring team dispatching emergency services immediately if needed.
3. My car has been broken into twice in my driveway. What security measures actually work to protect vehicles and garages?
Vehicle and garage security requires layered protection combining visibility, detection, and rapid response. Motion-activated security lighting placed six to ten feet above ground level over driveways and garage doors eliminates the darkness criminals need, with sudden illumination often deterring thieves immediately. For comprehensive protection, add door and window sensors to all garage access points—these contact sensors detect when openings occur and trigger instant smartphone alerts before intrusion happens, not after.
ABF Security’s systems offer sophisticated arming modes, including “Perimeter” mode that arms exterior doors and windows (including garage doors) while leaving interior sensors unarmed, perfect for when you’re home but want garage protection. Our outdoor cameras with motion detection provide video documentation of any suspicious activity, and when integrated with our 24/7 professional monitoring, ensure someone responds immediately to verified threats. Many of our customers also use smart garage door controllers connected to their security system, allowing them to check garage door status remotely and receive alerts if left open unexpectedly.
4. I have doorbell camera footage of someone stealing my packages, but I'm not sure what to do with it. How does professional monitoring help compared to just having cameras?
While doorbell cameras provide valuable evidence, they’re only as effective as your ability to respond in real-time. If you’re at work, sleeping, or distracted during holiday activities, you may miss critical alerts. This is where ABF Security’s professional monitoring makes the difference. Our UL-certified monitoring center operates 24 hours per day and is staffed by ESA-certified professionals based right here in St. Louis who understand our community. When your system triggers an alarm—whether from door/window sensors, motion detectors, or glass break sensors—our team receives the signal within seconds and immediately attempts to contact you. If the alarm cannot be verified as false, emergency services are dispatched immediately, ensuring appropriate action occurs regardless of your circumstances. During the hectic holiday season when you’re shopping, cooking, entertaining, or traveling, this human response layer is invaluable. Your doorbell camera provides the “eyes,” but professional monitoring provides the decisive action that actually protects your property and family.
5. What's the single most cost-effective security upgrade I can make right now to protect my home during the holidays?
Strategic exterior lighting combined with a video doorbell offers the best immediate return on security investment. Motion-activated LED security lights placed over all exterior doors and dark corners eliminate the anonymity criminals need and can be installed quickly and affordably. These lights startle intruders, draw attention to their presence, and dramatically reduce your home’s attractiveness as a target—all for minimal cost. Pair this with ABF Security’s Video Doorbell featuring AI-powered package detection, 150-degree vertical field of view, and two-way audio communication. You’ll receive instant alerts when packages arrive or are removed, can verify delivery drivers by video, and speak with anyone at your door from anywhere. The combination of lighting that eliminates dark hiding spots and video doorbell technology that provides visibility and remote communication creates a powerful first line of defense. For families on a budget, this two-component approach delivers professional-grade protection without the full system investment, and can easily be expanded later with door/window sensors, additional cameras, or professional monitoring as your security needs grow.