Warning, Rhode Island Among Highest For Porch Pirate Theft

Watch what you order online this holiday season, especially if you live in the Ocean State.

With Christmas just around the corner, packages are being delivered around the country more than ever and thefts by ‘porch pirates’ are on the rise as well.

A new study from Lombardo Homes broke down theft rates for each state and let homeowners know where their deliveries are most in danger.

Things don't look that great around Southern New England.

The study asked people about their experience with package theft over the last year and one-third of Americans reported being a victim of this modern day crime at least once. Some even say it happens repeatedly.

Among those that did experience 'porch piracy', over 50% said the theft came around the holidays, when deliveries are at their highest rates.

While you might think places with higher populations are getting hit the most with package theft, the Lombardo Home study says slightly different.

Their findings say North Dakota is the state with the most cases of 'porch pirate' theft, while Florida actually has the least number of thefts.

Would you ever have expected that?

So where do our local states fall in their findings?

Seems Rhode Island is among the states with more incidents of package theft than most. They landed just behind North Dakota on the list at #2. Delaware, Vermont and Nevada round out the Top 5.

As for the rest of New England, New Hampshire came in at #12, Massachusetts landed #14 and Maine managed to stay out of the Top 20 at #22.

Unfortunately the penalties for package theft vary from state to state, so perhaps lower penalties make cases of stolen packages higher.

Experts say to track all packages through your phone, sign up for delivery alerts and try to stay home when you know a package is arriving to lower the chance of these types of thefts happening to you.