Video: Young Child Porch Pirate Caught on Camera Following Instructions From Parent

Shocking security camera footage has emerged from Fresno California which appears to show a parent using their own child as a porch pirate to steal packages on the run-up to Christmas. If the date on the security footage is correct then the incident took place on Black Friday evening, a prime porch pirate date in the calendar.

The incident came to light when Fresno resident Sierra Zamora came home and noticed that an Amazon package she was expecting wasn’t on her porch, prompting her to check her security cameras.

What she saw was the parent appearing to scout out her property and upon seeing the package unattended she beckons her child out of a nearby car that seems to be wearing pyjamas to approach the property. The child is visibly confused as she doubles back towards the parent who off camera we assume is giving her instructions to grab the Amazon package.

The child can then be seen running towards the front door, grabbing the package and running back towards the parent.

You can see the video along with news coverage from ABC7 below:

Sierra told ABC7 that it was sad to see a child being manipulated in this was and that having lived in that property for over 11 years this was the first time she had ever had a package stolen.

The Porch Pirate Problem

The porch pirate problem is sadly nothing new. Back in 2020 we reported how 43% of Americans claimed that they had been a victim of the act which rises drastically on the run up to the holidays. Just a few months ago we also covered the story how the animal kingdom was also getting involved when security footage caught a bear stealing an Amazon package from a porch.

USPS has been aware of this problem for a number of years and advises people to be cautious and to take actions to limit exposure to Porch Pirates as much as possible.

“If people will be away from home or not sure they can pick up mail they can have their mail delivered to the post office anytime,”

“The post office offers some tools to help remind people when their mail is coming in. Customers can use Informed Delivery to be notified of what mail to expect in their box everyday,”

Matthew Norfleet, Postal Inspector, USPS.

You can report mail theft to the Postal Service by calling 877-876-2455 or online at uspis.gov. Other couriers will have similar processes in place.

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