An urgent warning has been issued to AT&T customers after porch pirates were found using mobile data to track and steal package deliveries, specifically iPhones.
Reports have suggested that a rouge employee from AT&T or FedEx may be collecting tracking numbers and selling them to thieves, similar to how people’s information is sold on the dark web.
Other possibilities included remote data theft, but companies are said to have made an official announcement about a possible hack.
A spokesperson for AT&T told DailyMail.com that it has “no evidence of any breach of our systems, and this was not a hack.”
Law enforcement agencies are also investigating the increase in thefts that occur within minutes or seconds of delivery in the US.
The thefts have occurred in at least nine states, including New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Florida.
Doorbell footage shows FedEx delivery drivers delivering a package containing an AT&T iPhone just before someone walks up and steals it off the porch.
AT&T customers have been advised to arrange package pickup or require signatures for all deliveries.
An urgent warning has been issued to AT&T customers after porch pirates use mobile data to track and steal package deliveries
“From time to time we deal with sophisticated criminals who attempt to steal valuables, and we understand how frustrating and stressful that can be for our customers,” an AT&T spokesperson told the newspaper. Wall Street Journal.
“When these unfortunate events occur, we work with the customer as quickly as possible to make things right.”
While CNET shared speculation about how porch pirates track packages, AT&T and law enforcement have not shared exact details.
Detective Lt. Matt Arsenault of the Gardner Police Department in Massachusetts, which investigates several incidents in the state, told WSJ that “they know what’s being delivered and the location.”
“They meet the delivery person at the front door and take it away.”
The porch pirates also take advantage of the fact that AT&T is one of the few phone companies that doesn’t require signatures upon delivery, giving thieves a window to steal the iPhone.
However, an AT&T spokesperson told DailyMail.com that the company requires signatures in areas with a higher number of reported thefts.
“We regularly make changes to our processes, whether it be the type of delivery or even the type of packaging, to reduce the incidence of these thefts,” they said.
The spokesperson said the thefts are not unique to AT&T, noting that “package theft is a problem for many businesses.”
Thieves are mainly looking for tracking numbers for new iPhones delivered to people’s homes
Reports of porch pirates stealing iPhone packages from AT&T have increased dramatically recently as they become increasingly desperate to get their hands on the device.
Earlier this month, a woman in Columbus, Ohio captured video of a thief attacking a FedEx delivery driver through her ring doorbell, showing the driver being attacked as he tried to place the package on the porch.
In August, a Georgia resident also reported that all five AT&T iPhones she ordered were stolen within minutes of delivery.
Despite the wave of thefts, AT&T’s spokesperson said the company is taking steps to “work with law enforcement agencies and parcel carriers to protect our deliveries from these sophisticated criminals.”
FedEx advises its customers to take steps to prevent criminals from stealing your packages, such as tracking your package using the map view so you can see where it is on the delivery route.
A FedEx spokesperson told WSJ that it regularly sends alerts to its drivers to “remain vigilant when delivering a package and to promptly report any unusual activity.”
The customer can also arrange for a store pickup to ensure the device isn’t stolen, although the AT&T spokesperson noted that the company ships tens of thousands of packages every day without any reported problems.
“Package theft is not a problem unique to us,” the spokesperson said.
‘As with other forms of crime, its emergence is often cyclical and dependent on the steps shippers, customers and parcel carriers take to combat it.’