‘Parcel pirates’ plundering mail from one in eight Kiwis
‘‘Parcel pirates’’ have plundered mail from almost half a million New Zealanders in the past year, new data suggests.
A survey by financial research and comparison website Finder found 13 per cent of people had a package stolen over the last 12 months.
Of those, 60 per cent lost items worth more than $50 and more than a third (37 per cent) lost more than $100 in value from the theft.
Finder’s New Zealand publisher, Kevin Mchugh, said younger generations were likely to bear the brunt of parcel piracy due to spending more time online.
‘‘Gen Z and millennials live so much of their lives online, so it makes sense that they are more prone to parcel theft.’’
One in five millennials reported having a package pinched, followed by 15 per cent of Gen Z.
Conversely, baby boomers’ deliveries proved to be the safest of the bunch with 7 per cent saying they have experienced parcel theft.
NZ Post chief customer officer, Bryan Dobson, said as a result of a 25 per cent jump in online sales, NZ Post had delivered more than 85 million parcels in 2020.
However, the overall level of lost, stolen or disputed deliveries had increased at a rate in line with parcel volume growth.
‘‘Instances of parcels being stolen after they are delivered is very disappointing. If a parcel is stolen after NZ Post completes delivery of the item, [it] becomes a police matter and people need to report the theft to the police.’’
Because the thefts are reported to the police, NZ Post is unable to keep a record of every theft after delivery, he said.
‘‘Our records do show 49 instances of this type of theft in 2020, but we know this doesn’t show the whole picture, and this is likely just the tip of the iceberg.’’
Police are also unable to provide the number of reported parcel thefts as they do not routinely record details of the types of property targeted in thefts as structured data.
Dobson advised online shoppers to redirect parcels if they knew they wouldn’t be home to take delivery.
They could also add instructions for parcels to be left in a specific spot during checkout or while tracking parcels online, and make use of NZ Post’s 300 parcel collect points nationwide.