Holiday madness is upon us. While the convenience of online shopping makes tracking down the perfect gift for your choosy cousin easier than ever, gift-hunting online has a couple downsides you’ll want to keep in mind before you start clicking away.

● Cyber Criminals: These virtual bad guys lurk in the depths of the web and are on the hunt for your personal information. Check out our recent post for some expert tips on staying safe online. It’s better to be safe than sorry this holiday!

● Porch Pirates: The threats don’t just live online, they are also stalking your front porch looking for packages to snatch. Don’t get caught empty handed at your holiday party, read our tips below on how to fight these bandits!

Online shopping keeps booming

According to Salesforce research, this year’s holiday shopping season will see a 13% increase in online sales versus last year. And Deloitte’s 2019 holiday retail survey indicates that 69% of consumers plan to tackle their holiday shopping in the two weeks after Thanksgiving. Now put yourself in the mind of a package thief: how easy would it be to time your pillage for maximum effect during these two weeks?

This time of year, American porches receive a bumper crop of expensive items. It’s all very exciting for the generous gift-givers (and grateful gift recipients)—but unfortunately, this easily predictable bounty of packages is equally enticing for theft.

Porch pirates by the numbers

The threat is real. According to Independent Retailer, up to 3-in-10 Americans have had their packages stolen. And CBS reported that, in 2017, 26 million Americans fell victim to porch pirates during the holiday season alone. What’s an online shopper to do? It’s simple: you can keep all of your holiday shopping adventures safe with the right home-security solutions.

Vanquish thieves with video

Through the integrated smart home security ADT Command and Control platform, you can seamlessly combine traditional security and smart home options for the ideal protection plan to ward off any would-be package thieves.

With the new Doorbell Camera and the ADT Control mobile app, you’ll know as soon as someone’s on your property: whenever the doorbell camera motion sensor is triggered, you get an alert on your phone. And with streaming video via your doorbell camera, you’ll see exactly who’s at your door—and you can even talk through the speaker to scare off any potential thieves. The doorbell camera also adjusts for low light to see visitors more clearly at night, too.

The convenience extends to legitimate deliveries. If the live video feed makes clear that your visitor is the real deal, you can let them know verbally that you will be disarming your ADT Command security system and unlocking your door remotely through the mobile app—then re-arm and re-lock as soon as they’ve left their delivery.

Gift yourself peace of mind

Timing is everything—and this year, we’re rolling out our best-ever holiday deal offer. Customers who sign up for qualifying new ADT services will receive both a free ADT Outdoor Security Camera ($270 value) and a free ADT Video Doorbell Camera ($200 value)—with installation included in both cases.

Check out our full suite of smart home security and cybersecurity products and services today—and keep your shopping safe, secure, and satisfying this holiday season.

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