A new legislative push in the United States aims to deliver a severe blow to so-called 'porch pirates' by closing a significant legal loophole. The proposed law would make the theft of packages from private delivery services a federal crime for the first time.
The Porch Pirate Act: Closing the Legal Gap
New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer unveiled the Porch Pirate Act on Cyber Monday, the 4th of December 2025. The bipartisan bill directly addresses a glaring inconsistency in American law. Currently, federal law only protects mail delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. This leaves parcels from private carriers like FedEx, UPS, and Amazon vulnerable; their theft is not a federal matter, complicating investigations and recourse for victims.
The proposed legislation would change this by imposing federal penalties for stealing packages from any delivery carrier. Under the act, convicted thieves could face up to ten years in prison and fines as high as $250,000. Furthermore, it would grant federal agencies, including the FBI, the authority to investigate these crimes.
A Widespread Problem with Costly Consequences
The move targets a rampant issue affecting households across the nation. Porch piracy has impacted millions of Americans, with the convenience of online shopping creating rich pickings for thieves. The financial and emotional toll is significant, especially during holiday seasons.
Shockingly, data suggests that a quarter of victims never receive a refund or replacement for their stolen items. This leaves consumers bearing the full loss. The problem has become so prevalent that some residents, like Rosemarie Dumhart in Baltimore, Maryland, have resorted to creative deterrents such as using marked decoy packages to discourage thieves.
Bipartisan Push for Consumer Protection
Representative Gottheimer framed the legislation as essential for protecting families and streamlining the legal definition of porch piracy. He stated the goal is to ensure that gifts, medications, and other essentials reliably reach their intended recipients.
By elevating the crime to a federal level, the Porch Pirate Act seeks to create a stronger deterrent and provide law enforcement with better tools to tackle organised theft rings that often operate across state lines. The announcement on Cyber Monday, one of the busiest online shopping days of the year, was strategically timed to highlight the bill's relevance to modern consumer life.
If passed, this law would mark a substantial shift in how package theft is prosecuted in the US, aligning the protection for private carrier deliveries with that of the national postal service and promising stiffer consequences for offenders.
